The Four Avatars
by lemminglover
Summary: Avatar Korra failed to prevent a war and the rise of a totalitarian Air Nation. One hundred years later, in a world of only airbenders, Korra dies and divides her bending between four teenagers - one for each element. They must put aside their allegiances and unite to anoint a new Avatar, one who can achieve what Korra failed and put an end to the chaos.


**Chapter One  
** **The Forgotten Temple**

 **I**

Trin got up and closed the large bay window as the violent rainless storm pummelled the old house with gusts of wind, rattling the wooden panels. Free from the chaos and, even worse, social interaction of the world, it was here in his grandfather's library that he felt most comfortable. Here he could enter worlds which he was much more familiar with than his own. His favourite fictional stories were of people who could bend not just air but the three other elements: water, fire and earth.

As he returned to reading, the wooden door to the library banged open, followed by a ball and his older brother Zoran.

"What's up big T?"

Trin read on, ignoring this arbitrary question.

"Thanks for replying. So…I'm kind of bored so we should think of something to do. Any ideas?"

"I'm already reading." Trin muttered, his head still down.

"Okay. Cool. Do you think there's anything that I would like?"

"I saw this one called 'Learning to Read'."

"Ha ha. You're hilarious, little bro. Do you wanna go hiking? I remember seeing a map in here at some point." Zoran said, proceeding to search the bookshelves whistling impossibly loudly. "Yeah, here!"

He pulled out a rolled map, leading to an avalanche of maps and books. "Yeah see this is where the house is. We could go up this mountain here, and then head along this saddle. It looks like there's some huge rock formations at the end of it, so that could look pretty cool. Alright, let's do it!"

"Have fun." Trin muttered.

"Come on, man," Zoran implored, "you've been here all week. Plus I promised our mother dearest to get you to do things while we're down here. You don't want to insult your best friend mummy, do you?"

"She's not my friend, and I don't want to go. And it's so windy, so it will be dangerous."

"We grew up on Cirrus! You're not afraid of benders, are you? If so, I can leave." Zoran flexed his stringy arm, lifting a wing of his wingsuit.

Trin sighed, "You're not a bender, why do you wear that?"

Zoran dodged the question and snatched up Trin's book, glancing at the cover.

" _Fire_ -bender? What the heck does that mean?"

"And earth and water. It's a common thing in books. If only you were taught to read..."

"How would firebending even work? Would you need to carry a candle everywhere?" He pulled a candle from its bracket on the wall and began waving it around.

"I don't know, it's just fiction. Like dragons and ghosts."

"That's nice. Anyway, let's go!"

"Again, I'd rather not."

"Put it this way, either we go now or I flame you to death!" Holding out the candle, he flapped a wing at it. The flame slightly flickered. "Alright, I'm going. But one day you're going to run out of books in here to read. You'll have to make your own adventures!"

 **II**

The journey up the mountain was blocked by large rocks which small Trin had to crawl, rather than walk over. As he did this, trying to keep up with his older brother who deftly hopped between stones, he once again wondered how they were possibly related. First there were the differences in personality, mainly how Zoran instantly became best friends with everyone he met where Trin had never had a friend in his life. But more noticeable were the differences in appearance: his brother was tall and athletic, his short spiky hair had a distinctive white patch at the back that for some reason girls seemed to love. Trin looked down at his own small, awkward, sweaty pale figure and exhaled, brushing his thick, shoulder-length hair to the side.

Eventually they managed to reach the peak of the mountain where Zoran, seeing that his brother was struggling, decided to have a break. The weather was humid and gusty, so that Trin had to mop off the sweat from his face. By now the dense bamboo forest and the sounds of animals surrounded them. Zoran pointed out the croak of a frog-squirrel, but Trin's attention was fixed on Cirrus. It was impossible not to notice the ominous sight considering they were in its shadow: the gargantuan figure floating in the sky above them against the backdrop of the dark purple thunderheads. It was the greatest achievement of the Air nation; a city built, operated and inhabited almost entirely by air and airbenders. Despite its size, Trin once again wondered how the majority of the world lived there. There were a few houses on the ground, and the prison, but apart from that everyone lived there. Maybe they would build another city one day.

"Come on bro," Zoran jumped up, "it should be flat and easy now we're along the ridge."

Indeed, the further they went, the smaller the rocks became. Eventually, they were both walking smoothly along the narrow ridge, pushed on by hot gusts of wind. The bamboo trees rocked around them, leaves swirling at their feet. The air buzzed with electric tension as if something was coming. For the first time in his life, Trin felt a thirst for adventure. He wondered what it felt like to be able to control the wind with his hands, to be so strongly connected to nature that one of the elements would feel like an extension of his body. Zoran had always hoped that he would one day discover his bending abilities and serve within the Angels under direction of their mother. Trin always made fun of him for this but now, feeling the currents of air around him, he completely understood this yearning.

After some time of walking in peace with the occasional comment from Zoran and distant thunder, they reached the end of the ridge and looked down the incline where the dense forest stretched out in front of them. Spread sporadically through the forest were giant boulders emerging from the canopy.

"Alright, the path ends here. So do you want-"

Suddenly, a huge roar of thunder shook the mountain ridge, rocks tumbled down the hill. Five seconds later, rain began to fall. At first, it was only slight, but soon torrents were falling on the brothers. Trin immediately turned around and began traipsing back, but Zoran grabbed his shoulder.

"It's too dangerous to go back now!" he shouted over the downpour, "let's find some cover!"

Together they frantically headed down the mountainside. They soon came to a large archway of smooth stone which they hid under. Amidst the forest, the area underneath it was an oddly bare patch in the shape of a square. Trin crouched in the corner, staring out at the rain. His sense of adventure had completely been dampened by the storm; all he wanted now was to be back sitting back in their grandfather's library in his armchair, watching the storm from a window. Once again, he should not have listened to his brother.

"Hey, Trin! Come over and look at this!" Zoran called from the centre of the square patch. Trin reluctantly came over, and saw that Zoran was pointing at a circle in the ground, marked by strange symbols.

"I think this structure might be the old ruins of something. Maybe this is the top floor and this is the door to the rest of it?"

He scratched the dirt off the door, then dug his fingernails alongside it and smiled with excitement. He motioned to Trin to help him and together they lifted a heavy stone circle out of the space, revealing darkness below.

"Dude, check it out!"

"What? It's darkness?"

"Yeah, but…ok, fine."

Zoran then retrieved a flare from his backpack and struck it on the ground, setting it alight. He dropped it in the hole, revealing a cavern about three metres deep.

"Do you think I can jump down there? I think I can."

"No!" groaned Trin, "You don't know what's down there."

"Exactly!" Zoran smiled. "Come on, we've got to do something until the rain passes."

"I don't want to."

"Yes you do. You read about this stuff all the time. Maybe it's time you had an adventure of your own?"

Eventually, Trin agreed to jump down into the cavern. Zoran brought rope in his bag they could use to climb out with and, as the better knot-tier, they decided Trin would go in first and throw the rope to Zoran to tether it to something. They hurled the bag in, which made a strange cracking noise before Zoran carefully lowered his brother in.

As soon as he landed, Trin knew there was something wrong. The floor of the cavern was made up of a series of square tiles. Some of the tiles were completely missing, revealing either total darkness or a set of dangerous-looking wooden spikes and traps. The bag, he realised, must have fallen through a tile when they threw it because there was no sign of it.

"What's wrong, bro? Where's the rope?" Zoran called down.

"I…I can't find it," Trin cried back, beginning to break down. "I…I don't think I can ever get out I…"

"Trin, it's okay. I'll be down there straight away."

"No-" Trin began to say before he stopped himself. The sensible thing to do would be for his brother to find something else to throw down for him to climb, but he wasn't thinking about the most sensible option. He clapped his hands over his ears and shut his eyes tightly. This was just a terrible nightmare and he was going to wake up in his grandfather's chair just where he had fallen asleep.

 **III**

"Trin?" his brother, back in the cavern, pulled his hands away from his ears. He shoved him away.

"Woah, okay. Listen, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen, I promise. Just hear me out. You don't have to look at me, but please listen. I don't know where the bag went so the only way out is at the end of this room. Look, there's three doors at the end and I think we have to step on the tiles to get to the right one…I've tried to figure out how to do it but I'm not good with puzzles. I need you, man. You're awesome at puzzles. Please just look at them and try to figure it out."

Trin took a deep breath and steadied himself before examining the room. Each of the tiles, including above the three doorways to darkness at the end of the room, had a different pattern on them. After looking at them for some time, he realised that four of the symbols, including one above one of the doorways, had the airbending symbol, three whorls, in it. Together they made a pathway leading to the middle doorway.

"Okay man, you go first and I'll follow you. And try to hurry because the flare is about to run out."

Trin leapt from their end of the cavern to the first tile. He wobbled about for a second before steadying himself and leaping to the second one with relative ease. But as he leapt onto the third one, the flare went out and he began to fall to the left. Before he fell, he felt his brother dart to the side of him, making the tile crack and screaming in pain before pushing him back.

"Shit…I'm okay. We're close to one of the doors now so just jump through it and I'll follow you. Don't worry, this should be the last room."

Trin tumbled on the ground, closely followed by his older brother who swore in pain when he landed. At first the room was in complete darkness as well, but after a couple of clicking sounds, flames erupted around them. They shielded their eyes from the white burning light.

Once their eyes adjusted, they examined the room. This one was a long stone hallway ending in a wooden door. Flames burst out of the walls in succession all along the hallway.

"Okay," Zoran started "it's pretty obvious what we have to do. When it's the right time, we just need to run like heck to the end. I…the only thing is I cut my foot pretty badly in there…"

Trin glanced at the bloody mess on the end of his brother's leg, and stifled his shock.

"I'm going to need you to carry me," implored Zoran, but his brother said nothing. "Please. I need you to do this." He grabbed Trin's head in his hands, trying to force eye contact. It was useless. When Trin was like this, he was completely a closed book. He would not talk, make eye contact or any interaction for hours at least.

Zoran sighed and began to tear up, "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I didn't know this was going to happen but please, we need to get out of here. I don't care if you don't talk to me ever again, but please just get us out. This will be the last room before we leave. I promise. I promise."

After some time, Trin stood up and stood before the flames and bowed his head. Zoran climbed onto his back.

"Thank you. Okay, we've got to time this right. Three, two, one…go!"

Trin ran faster than he had ever run even by himself. He felt fire roar all around him, and sweat dripped down his neck. He was sure that the flames would engulf them and closed his eyes until he ran into the wall.

"Trin, you did it!" Zoran laughed.

Trin ignored him and the two walked through the wooden door. They were in another stone tunnel but this one was much rougher and had clearly been hewn out of the bedrock. As Zoran half-limped and half-hopped behind his younger brother, he listened to the roar of the fire behind them. But the further they went along, the roaring appeared to become louder. At the end of the tunnel, much to their relief, they could see sunlight signalling the exit. It was partly obscured by plumes of mist, and immediately Zoran understood that the roar was the sound of a waterfall. He almost walked further to the edge before Trin halted suddenly.

Peering through the billows of mist, he could make out that they were standing on a precipice in the side of a canyon. To their left was the massive waterfall, hurtling over the edge far above them, while below where the water was crashing he could not even see the base of the canyon below the bed of mist.

Zoran swore, clasping the shoulder of his younger brother.  
"I'm so sorry, man. We'll just have to go back in and-"

Without warning, Trin shook off his hand and stepped towards the edge and stepped into the abyss.

"Trin what the _fuck_!?" Zoran scrambled to the edge where he knelt and cupped his hands over his face. The silhouette of his brother was visible before being completely swallowed by the mist.

"No! No…"

How could this be happening? His younger brother, who had been around before he could remember. Trin. Trinley, the boy that nobody would ever understand, the child he was supposed to protect.

"I'm coming," he whispered. He closed his eyes and rolled over the edge.

 **IV**

He couldn't breathe, the mist and rock around him forming grey and brown blurs. The fall seemed to keep going – when finally he passed through the bed of mist, he kept going until suddenly he came in contact with something which slowed him down. As Zoran's lungs clawed for air, he bounced several times on his back until coming to a stop. He looked around and saw that he had landed on a network of vines. Trin was nowhere to be seen, but peering through the mist he could see that the net extended across the canyon, even behind the waterfall. He propped himself up on his legs, a sharp pain searing through his bloody foot, and stepped along the vines until he came to the waterfall. The first thing he saw when he burst through the torrents was his brother, standing in a small cavern. He wrapped his arms around him and held him tight, but Trin did not seem to register.  
Instead, his attention was fixed on the centre of the small cavern. A somewhat cylindrical pillar extended from the ceiling to the ground. Written all around it, as well as along the walls of the room, were four symbols repeatedly. It took Zoran a while to realise that these symbols were the same as the tiles he and Trin stepped on in the first room.

Zoran moved forward and around to the other side of the pillar. He examined the symbols, running his hands along the engravings. As soon he touched the rock, the room began to vibrate. Rocks began to fall off the ceiling, and the boys felt the ground shake beneath their feet. Without warning, a circle cracked in part of the pillar, with a sinewy, withered hand emerging. They both cried out in shock, moving backwards. The cracked extended upwards, revealing a bare arm that was also withered and appeared to belong to an older person. The hand began to move; rising upwards with the palm faced down, bony fingers pointing towards Trin.

"D-do you think it wants our help?" Zoran asked.

The palm of the ancient hand then turned upwards before clenching tightly. As if in answer to this gesture, cracks all around the pillar began to form. The small plates of cracked rock came loose and fell away in an avalanche, revealing a very elderly woman with her eyes shut. The woman seemed ancient; her short white hair hanging over her face, her faded blue clothes dirty and torn and skin leathery and brown like an ancient tree. She hovered on her feet for a second and seemed as if she wanted to tell them something before collapsing over Trin who stumbled backwards with her and fell against the wall. Zoran limped over and put his arms around the old woman, trying to help her up but she struggled against his pull. She removed a small note from her shirt and gave it to Trin before rolling to the side on her back. Trin stood up in panic from being so close to a stranger, and stood behind Zoran, but the woman only smiled at them.

"My name is Korra," she rasped, "read my words and find the right person."

She closed her eyes and went still. The ceiling of the cavern above the broken pillar began to buckle, water dripping through. Zoran noticed this straight away and shook Trin, but he was fixed on the small note she had given him.

"Come on, bro!" Zoran shouted over the roar of the waterfall and the cracking of rock, "We have to get out of here!"

He grabbed him by the shirt and together they began to leave the cavern when suddenly the ceiling cracked entirely. Water flooded the chamber, and before they could outrun it a wave threw them against the wall violently. It dragged them outside and threw them under the waterfall. Together they crawled out of the torrent, coughing and sides aching from hitting the wall. Suddenly, a large boulder landed to their right. Two more large rocks hit their left side. Glancing back, Zoran immediately saw that the entire mountainside was collapsing, raining boulders down on them.

He grabbed his brother's shirt again and began to move forwards, but Trin did not move. He looked back at his brother in exasperation, but Trin stayed still, pointing below their feet. Looking around, he saw boulders landing everywhere, even in front of them where they were running to. But he suddenly realised that none of the rocks had penetrated the net. He then realised what his brother was saying: if they found some way to get under the net to the river below, they would have a better chance of escaping the rockslide than if they kept going along the top of it.

He nodded to Trin and together they attacked the vines below them, scratching, pulling and even biting them. But their efforts only marked the vines, they could not break through the dense woody plant. Then, without warning, a flash of light and heat burst under Zoran's hands. He stumbled backwards in shock and confusion, but he noticed that whatever he had done, it had blackened the plant and it was smoking. He looked up at Trin in confusion, who gave a frantic shrug. Leaping back quickly, Zoran gestured wildly in an attempt to produce the same effect while Trin looked above. Another burst of light, this time clearly a ball of flames, formed under Zoran's hands and cut a circle through the vines. Trin looked down at it in awe, then looked up just in time to see an enormous boulder falling directly above them.

Without thinking, he grabbed Zoran by the arms and pushed off the ground vines. If he had time to think it through, he would've realised he did not possess the strength to push off enough to clear out of the way of the boulder. But inexplicably, he felt a flurry of wind propel behind him, narrowly pushing them both out of the way. The tip of the boulder plummeted through the hole that Zoran had burned, tearing the vines around it until it fell the whole way through. They both fell through it, landing in the cold, deep river below.

 **V**

After a long time, Zoran swam to the bank of the river, saying that it would be near their grandfather's house. They laid out on the sandy bank for a while, catching their breath. The storm had passed, and some patches of blue were appearing in the sky.

Zoran laughed, clutching his wounded leg, "Well. That was fun."

Trin said nothing, taking out and reading through the small note that the woman had given him.

"Alright, but seriously bro. We need to talk about this. We need to plan what to do. Obviously we both saw me do that thing, and then I swear you couldn't have done what you did if you hadn't… so we need to decide what the heck we are going to do now."

Trin folded the note and stood up. He seemed as if he was about to say something, but then he walked away, his older brother watching him leave in despair. He had never seen him this bad before. He'd messed up. There was no way he could see him having a conversation with his brother ever again. Whatever they had to do, he would have to do it alone.

 **Chapter Two**

 **Missed Opportunities**

 **I**

The prison guards could not help checking out Mira and Pei as they were escorted down the tunnel stairs. Most of their attention was focussed on Mira, whose milky skin, shiny hair tied in a high ponytail and satin garments were never seen in the kind of women they sent down to the prison. Less could be said for Pei with her stockier build and moon face, marching in her boots and industrial gear.

Mira, accustomed to the attention, held her head aloft and wrinkled her nose. She gazed absent-mindedly above them through the glass ceiling as they went past. The ceiling of the tunnel being the floor of the prison, the prisoners stared back at her. She wondered once again how her father had entertained himself in such a dull place for so long. Even the look of the prison was boring; like every other structure of Cirrus, it was built from a reinforced glass. Another unique part of the prison's design was that it was a single centre – all prisoners were enclosed within the one centre on one of five floors. But most unusual was each floor formed a ring within the prison. Further, each ring was staged five metres below the outer ring.  
It was said the more dangerous the prisoner, the further down they stayed.

It was to the innermost, lowest floor where Mira, tailed by Pei, was travelling to now. They reached the end of the tunnel, simply the wall of the ring. Inside, like the other rings, the floor and wall were white but instead of multiple prisoners milling around, a lone figure sat in the middle with his back to them. Mira rapped on the door to get her father's attention. He turned slowly, awaking from deep meditation.  
Mira couldn't believe how old he looked, as he approached, with his long, white finger-combed hair and beard. Yet still he had not lost his empowered mien. He strode upright to meet them in his plain prison robes, towering over them intimidatingly despite being behind a wall. After nodding to them to open a circular food port, he gave them a broad smile and outstretched his arms,

"Friends! How are you?" As always, his powerful, booming voice belied his age.  
"I'm good daddy, how are you?" Mira answered sweetly.  
Xaga frowned. "Hmm, that tone. What went wrong, Pei?"  
Until now, Mira's bodyguard had waited behind several steps. She moved to the wall,  
"I'm sorry sir, we were following the…polar bear-dogs through the jungle, but we lost them."  
Xaga looked down to the side and nodded.  
"It wasn't our fault," Mira continued, "We found the entrance to what looked like an old temple."  
"A temple?"  
"Yes. We were planning on entering, but the dogs did something down there…it felt like an earthquake. It caved in the entrance, so instead we headed to the edge of the cliff. There was an avalanche of rocks going into the river, and we saw two figures down there so we went to the bottom."  
"So you didn't lose them?"  
"We found them again, but we overheard something that will change your instructions."  
"Yes?"

Mira moved to the wall and whispered something into the port. When she stepped away, Xaga was staring at her unwaveringly.  
"I told you it would change the mission," started Mira, "but I mean they could've just joking about it. So we came here straight away, to get new…"  
She trailed off when she saw her father's disappointed look.  
"I've trusted you with a lot of things," he said. "You helped me to design this prison that is inescapable by _anyone-_ "  
"Yeah, then got thrown in it less than a month later-" Mira muttered.  
"By my own confession." Xaga said as if putting a full stop between each word. "See I believe in honesty, something which I tried to instil in you but obviously I have failed. You only brushed over what I would consider is the most important detail, the reason why you are here which tells me that you covering something up, perhaps something about yourself?"  
Mira fell silent.  
"Pei?" Xaga enquired. "Am I right in assuming the something that affected the boys also affected you two?"  
Pei glanced at Mira, who was examining her nails, "Yes sir."  
"I see. And for you, was it dirt or rain?"  
"Dirt." She whispered

Mira approached her father again, "Dad, it's not my fault. If it was up to me, I would've chosen _air_."  
"If it were up to you, you'd be the Avatar."  
She frowned, "What?"  
Xaga clenched and unclenched his hands "You girls should go. I need to rethink your positions. In the meantime, I'll be sending someone to train you."  
Before Mira could protest again, Xaga had turned and stormed away. A flurry of air came out of the circle in the wall, making the door shudder before dropping back down.

Out of all these events, something simple struck Pei as she tailed a furious Mira back up the stairs. _Why had_ Xaga confessed to his crimes only weeks after designing an inescapable prison?

 **II**

Zoran couldn't believe how quickly he had picked up firebending. In the week since they had gained their bending, he had found a rocky area on the other side of the mountain where he trained in secret. At first, because he was afraid of the raw power of producing fire and because his leg was still injured, he was limited to small jerks of his arms. He loved the feeling of producing the jets of flames so easily with his hands, the feeling of hot energy travel down his arms, getting hotter until finally bursting as heat into the air. As he watched the tongues of the flames tongues break off and spiral outwards only to quickly dissipate, he marvelled at how something so destructive could be so delicate.

As he gained confidence and mobility in his leg, he began to experiment more, learning more things the more he did. He took his shoes off and found that he could just as easily produce streams of fire from his bare feet as he could with his hands. By manipulating a ball of fire in his hand he could change its size to quite broad, down to a candle flame and eventually dissipating. Then, by moulding the flames into a ball he could hurl it at a target. Earlier today, he had found that by turning his body and making circular motions he could greatly increase the momentum and size of the fire he produced. His mother had taught both boys how to fight from an early age. While Trin was uninterested, Zoran had taken to it quickly and continued to train with her whenever he could. After the sudden death of one of the Senators, however, her workload had increased and so she had sent the boys to their grandfather's for a while.

He had been training since noon, and so by dusk, the air area had been dried out by the fire. Although he loved doing this, he missed his little brother. He wished more than anything that they could train together, but every day when he knocked on the locked library door, there would be no response. There was so much that they needed to talk about – how he was able to _firebend,_ whether other types of bending existed and what Trin had learned from the old woman Korra's note. He wanted to go on an adventure with him and use their abilities for something, helping their mother to fight criminals and bringing justice to Cirrus.

A plume of fire he produced with his hand was blown by the wind up his arm. He cried out in pain, and gripped his scorched arm as he leant against a boulder. It wasn't a bad burn but under the afternoon sun it still felt it was on fire. He headed down the mountainside to the river where he splashed water over it. _Come on Trin,_ he thought. _Talk to me again._

 **III**

 _My name is Korra, I am the Avatar. Air Nation have united and the other three are all gone. I failed to stop this. My time is over now._

Trin had read the note hundreds of times by now, locked in the library and reading every book he could find that would shed light on this note. At first, he assumed that the note was a work of fiction, written by some crazy old bat that had entrapped herself in some rocks. As the week went on, however, it became more and more difficult to ignore the change that had happened to him. On some days, when he got out of bed he had to push his feet to meet the floor as if someone had placed an invisible cushion below it and sometimes when he reached for the note again it would fly away from his hand.

 _When the Avatar is reborn, the child may get lost or killed in one of the nations. Therefore, through decades of meditation and energybending I hope that when I am found and the spirit world can release my soul, the ability to bend each element will be divided into the closest nonbenders_. _It's up to you four to unite and find someone to be a suitable Avatar, someone strong-willed with balance and responsibility that is willing to reunite the four nations. Don't fail the world._

There was so much of it that Trin barely understood.  
There's three other elements to be bent? Two other people, perhaps in Cirrus, had received their bending?  
Three other nations? A spirit world?

The only thing he could accept was that he and Zoran would have to find the two other people who had been given earth and waterbending. He had checked the newspaper every day but there was no news of any water or earthbender causing havoc in Cirrus. Despite the necessity for this mission, he was too afraid of the danger. He ignored all of his brother's knocks and cries behind the door. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door which sounded less bouncy than Zoran's. "Granddad?" he called out. There was no response, but then again his grandfather was partly deaf. There was another heavy knock on the door, and he raced over to it. He couldn't help feeling something was wrong.

The knock seemed too heavy to be either his brother or grandfather. He unlocked the door and opened it, but there was nobody there. A faint smell of smoke stung the air. He frowned and stepped through the doorway. Feeling a stinging sensation, he touched his neck and felt some sort of dart. Before he could even pull it out, he collapsed on the carpet.

 **IV**

It was night by the time Zoran reached the base of the mountain, although the stars were bright enough that he could see his way. The heat of the day had passed and he was starting to feel cold in his wet clothes so he moved quickly. As he made his way through the trees to get to the house, he smelt smoke. He looked up and saw that stars were indeed obscured by a pillar of smoke. Breaking into alarm immediately, he raced through the trees. Something was definitely wrong. His grandfather's house had a fireplace, but it had not been used in years and it certainly wouldn't produce this much smoke. He broke through the trees and shielded his eyes against the sight before him.

One side of the house was entirely covered in fire. The old wood panelling was being burnt through quickly and slowly spreading to the other side. One entire wall had already collapsed while the remaining parts were blackened. Zoran immediately broke into a sprint but as his eyes adjusted to the light he halted himself. First he saw a young sky bison covered entirely in black rags but then, scanning to the side of the house, he saw two figures seated motionlessly in chairs within the library. He felt prickles ripple up his arms to his back.  
Creeping across to the large tree in the middle of the lawn, he slowly climbed its branches until he saw what he had feared: his grandfather and brother tied to the chairs and gaffed. Panicking, he climbed to the highest branch and crept along it until he reach the wall of the house. From here he could see, fortunately, that the window had been left ajar. After wiping the sweat from his hands onto his outfit, he dropped down so that he was hanging from the branch by his fingertips. He then swung back and forth before letting go and landing feet first through the window. It was a testament to Trin's fear that when Zoran reached them, he looked up at Zoran. His black eyes watered with relief. Their grandfather, on the other hand, was motionless in his chair with his head bowed. After waiting several seconds to make sure nobody had heard his landing, he moved to him first, removing the tape from his mouth. He did not awaken, but Zoran passed his hand over his mouth and determined he was breathing.

"I think it was the smoke," Trin breathed out, after Zoran removed his tape.

"Yeah, his breathing's fine. What the heck is going on!?"

"Benders. About five of them, I don't know why they're here but should we call Nea?"

"Yeah," Zoran started untying him, "call mum. I'll distract them."

"What? I don't think you should, they're gloved and they took me down in a second."

"But you weren't expecting them. Now they're not expecting me!"

"Don't worry," Zoran grinned before taking off his shoes, "Unlike you, I've been practicing." He crept across the room but stopped before opening the door. He was excited to finally put his training to use and protect his family, but these were dangerous criminals. They had already burnt down half of his grandfather's house and they had gloves which their mother had always told him are difficult to avoid, even for an experienced bender. I'll just have to be on my game, he thought, before bursting out of the door.

There was nothing on his right but he sensed movement behind the door on his left. Not wanting to lose the element of surprise, he immediately jumped to the side and blindly shot out his arm. A perfect jet of flames burst out and almost hit the man waiting on the other side. He gave out a shout of surprise and reeled backwards, shooting a dart from his glove as he fell to the ground. Zoran ducked as the dart narrowly went to his left and stuck in the door. He ripped it out of the wood and charged at the fallen man. The man fired more hand-darts at him from the ground, but Zoran kept low before launching himself, sliding down the hallway where he stabbed the dart into the man's leg. The man gave out a cry of surprise and moved his gloved hand in front of Zoran's face but slumped before he could fire. Zoran breathed a sigh of relief, but before he could recover he heard footsteps behind him.

"Let's move, Sen. We got the not – _shit-_ " another bender had reached the top of stairs and seen him. He raised two gloved hands and began firing darts from them simultaneously. Zoran rolled out of sight behind the door and ran along the wall to behind the door for cover. He heard the footsteps coming nearer, so he continuously fired blasts around the door to stop him. But he couldn't keep doing this forever – he needed to think of a plan quickly. Benders less familiar with the bending arts wore two gloves instead of the customary one. In some ways, this was more dangerous as the right-handed gloves contained actual bullets. But because wearing such thick gloves could interfere with bending, combat could be more difficult.

He directed around the door a massive blast of fire before quickly somersaulting through it. Coming into contact, he gripped them and tackled them forward. They both tumbled down the stairs, feeling a blazing heat around them. By the time they landed, Zoran was dimly aware that they were surrounded by other figures, circling them. He continued to wrestle with the agent so the others wouldn't move to attack. Out his periphery he sensed that there were five other agents circling around them, some of them with gloves raised and others moving their hands in preparation of bending. The others were starting realise to that his grappling with the agent was only a distraction, and they began closing the circle around him. Suddenly, he could sense fire around him – on the roof and alight on the walls. Not only could he sense it, but he felt as if was an extension of himself, something that he could control.

He let go of the agent and pushed him away, "gripped" the fire and dove flat on the ground. As he'd hoped, but not expected, he pulled down a blanket of fire over him, engulfing the agents who were standing straight. A second later, he saw a bare hand propelled by air smack him in the cheek with the base of the palm, knocking him upwards. The fire retreated quickly to the walls and roof as the hand held his neck to the wall. He saw that it this agent was a middle-aged woman with short greying hair and, unlike the others, had no gloves. She was untouched by fire, but the other agents were rolling on the ground or slapping the flames out. One of the agents, an older man with a white goatee and wearing two dark purple gloves, calmly stood behind the woman and clapped her shoulder, thanking her.  
He then turned to the others, "Okay, we got what we came for, clear out. Could someone find out where Sen has gone? Come on, Rinna" he said to the woman still holding Zoran's throat, but she gave no response.  
"Do you want some practice?" he asked, to which she nodded.  
The older man thought for a second before giving a relaxed, crooked smile "Yeah I suppose that's fine. Just don't get caught and you'll have to make your own way back. And remember, don't hurt him too much."  
"Thanks Hideki." Rinna nodded, tightening her grip of stubby fingers into Zoran's neck, then watched as the group of benders, including the one he had hit with a dart who was being carried on an agent's back, leave the house. As they slammed the front door, Zoran shot flames out of his palms into Rinna's sides. She screamed, stumbling backwards as Zoran strafed towards the stairs, massaging his throat. Before he could reach them, he felt a blast of air hit him, slamming him into the wall. Rinna, crouched over in pain, performed a series of hand movements which Zoran looked up in time to see before being dragged across the floor by a vortex of air. After being dragged several feet, to Rinna's left, she circled around him and sliced through the air with her hands, blasting Zoran across the room into the stair railing. He rolled to the ground on his knees, feeling winded after hitting the railing.

Within seconds she had recovered from what must have been severe burns and tossed him around the room as if he weighed nothing. Once again, the best that he could do was take her by surprise. He watched her stick out her palm again, and rolled to his left to evade the ensuing blast of air. Then, leaping onto his feet he drew fistfuls of fire from the wall and roof, raining them down on the woman.

Rinna waved her hands around her hand, shielding against the flames with a disc of air. This left her open to attack. Zoran seized the opportunity by holding a flame behind his back, then swinging it forward and releasing it with his fist. Rinna noticed this and held out her palm to block the fire but she was too late, and the flame scorched her bare hand and up her sleeve. She screamed and bat at the sleeve, putting out the flames. Zoran stepped backwards, relenting after seeing the damage he'd caused, but the woman turned to him in fury. She held her hands at her side before, drawing on the air behind her, arced her hands around her back and over her head. Zoran felt as if all the air in the room slapped him at once, slamming him into the wall and winding him again. Before he could recover, she charged at him and launched onto her hands to do handsprings, but her scorched arm crumpled under her and she fell to her side. Zoran felt a pang of guilt for burning her, but he shot out warning plumes of flame to keep her away. Without warning, still grounded, Rinna swiped her foot through the air, blowing the flame back into Zoran's face. "Argh!" he cried as he shielded his face with his arms.

She got to her feet and blasted more air at him, smacking him into the wall again. "I thought he said not to hurt me!?" Zoran cried.  
"I don't care what he said," she grinned maniacally, "After I kill you, I'm going to let them burn to death."

"You crazy _bitch_!" Zoran cried as he charged at her mindlessly. But before he could tackle her, she rolled onto her back and, kicking her feet upwards, he was propelled into the air so high that he slammed into the roof before landing on the second floor. She followed suit by launching herself upwards and landing in front of him, punching fistfuls of air into him. One by one he felt them hit him, pushing him further and further backwards. Before he could even start to make a move, he felt the force of another blow.  
"What the heck is your problem!?" he shouted, "We've done nothing wrong to you!"  
She snorted, "You've threatened the peace of our city. You have no place here."  
Zoran grew desperate, "I'm just one person. What could I do?"  
Rinna rolled her eyes, "A plague can just start from one, but then it will ruin the entire crop!"

She crouched down and kicked the air under him, making him land flat on his back. Before he could move, she grasped his neck with her stubby talons and forced him flat. Then, with her scorched hand, she formed circular motions which encased his head in a vacuum of air. Zoran immediately felt the air being torn out of his lungs. He tried to jab flames at her with his feet but the force of the jet-stream was so strong that they only produced small licks of cold flame. In desperation, he clawed at his face with his fingernails, feeling for air.  
Then, suddenly, he heard Rinna scream and looked up to watch her be thrown through the wooden balustrade. He watched her fall to the ground, too shocked to stop her fall, where she landed with a loud thud on her head, twisting her neck. Zoran gasped for breath as he looked up to see his brother, as shocked as he was.

 **V**

 _You have no place here_ …  
Rinna's final words still echoed in Zoran's mind as he watched his mother stride across the lawn and embrace Trin and his grandfather. She was right of course – Trin could airbend, he was fine if they made up some excuse that his abilities were latent. But he was a firebender – as long as he lived in Cirrus, he would never be able to show what he could do, he would always have to hide himself. He wished that he had been given airbending, and Trin fire. It wasn't fair, Zoran had always wanted to be a skyguard and Trin wanted to just read by himself.  
When the two of them discussed before their mother arrived what Korra had written and what they should do, Zoran made him promise not to tell anyone about his bending. He had said it was because it might make people suspicious, but really it was because it was so envious that he didn't think he could handle having his little brother having all the attention.

The four of them woke up and saddled the family bison, Nebo, loading her with all that they could salvage from their grandfather's house. Their mother put their arms around their grandfather before they took. As Nebo rose up and glided upwards, ash spirals lifted up from the ruins of the house. Zoran looked at them guiltily and felt choked up, feeling somehow responsible for its destruction.  
 _You'll never be one of us…  
_ He raised his arms, looking at the sleeves of his wingsuit. Like a child, he thought. Pretending something I'm not. Maybe one day, when he and Trin found the earth and water benders, there would be a time where he needed his abilities. But until then, he would just have to accept it.

He turned to Trin next to him and spoke in a low voice, "Hey, I think you should tell Nea what you can do."  
Trin turned immediately to him, "No."  
"Oh come on. If you do that then she might make you a new skyguard, and then you can find out where the other two are."  
"Hmm…that does seem like a good idea…"  
"See!?"  
"But on the other hand, it's effort and I'd have to deal with people, so no."  
Zoran groaned before calling out to their mother.  
She turned around and gave them a menacing, why-can't-you-give-your-grandfather-peace look "What."  
"Sorry, but Trin has something really important to tell you."  
"Now? We'll do it when we get home."  
Zoran grinned in triumph at Trin, who grunted "Your birth was a mistake."  
Zoran reached and hugged him tightly, "Aww I love you too!"

 **VI**

The Infrastructure Senator waited patiently with her Shadow in line for the air tube. As one of the highest-ranked citizens of Cirrus, she could easily skip the line with her guard and the others would have no choice to obey. But Zayna thought there was something fundamentally wrong with that system. She and the other Senators were no more important than any other rank – each citizen had their own part to play in the world, they were all equal. Starting from little things like this, she decided, she would bring to the other Senators the changes she wanted to make. A society of equals without oppression, where anyone could walk or glide between buildings. A society without fear of their own police whose policy centred around shooting on sight.

The time came for her to go into the tube. She, like everyone else on the surface, had grown up with the air tubes that transported them around Cirrus that it was second nature. She didn't even think about it as she stood automatically under the large clear tube and it extended down around her. As she was sucked upwards through the tube over the roads below, she looked over the great city that she loved so much. It was such a feat of engineering and architecture that they had built this city operated entirely by airbending. There was the pneumatic tube system for both travel and sending messages, and air canisters or tanks for practically everything. Even giant pylons raised above the city, projecting out pressurised pulses when it was raining like giant umbrellas.

Zayna was so lost in her thoughts that she only noticed something was wrong when she started slowing down, far above Cirrus. This usually meant that there was a hole or part of the tube which was being repaired, but she had seen no such warning sign before she had been taken up. She looked below her for her Shadow, but he was nowhere to be seen in the tubing below. Suddenly, the airflow became so slow that she simply stopped and laid horizontally, far above the streets below. She began to panic. Something was definitely wrong – as the tubing system fell under her banner, she would know if a repair was taking place tonight. And where was her Shadow, the airbending masters which guarded each Senator?

Shivering, she began to crawl along the tube, feeling the cold air through the glassy surface. She whipped her head around after hearing a sound, but she could see nothing so she kept moving. As she did so, she heard something else moving, material that wasn't hers. Attempting to ignore it, she kept going but each time she stopped, the sound stopped at the same time. Suddenly, she had a feeling all down her spine that someone else was very close to her. She looked below her, then behind and then forward but once again saw nothing. Reluctantly, she slowly moved her gaze above her and saw blackness. But this blackness was moving. Zayna screamed, pushing herself along the tube as fast as she could but it was too late and she felt her whole body collapse, pushed down as if by the weight of air. Slowly, she turned around to see a pale face above her. The agent shouted something, but his shrill voice could not pierce through the glass.  
Zayna cried out but it was the last she would ever cry. She reached out and touched the glass, mouthing in an attempt to explain how she wanted to change the world. She would never have the chance.

 **Chapter Three  
** **Coming Up For Air**

Three weeks later.

 **I**

As the large air bison came in for landing, workers gathered around with carts for gathering the load. They were surprised when, instead of cargo, they found two young women hop down. One looked tough, as if she had just escaped from the Underworks, while the other had the grace silks suggestive of higher class. Mira ignored their stares and strode down the glass streets purposefully. Although she was well known as the daughter of an infamous prisoner, she looked down on everyone she passed, making no apology when she brushed against them.

Pei, however, was distracted by Cirrus. Coming from a lower class, nonbending family, she grew up in the Underworks below Cirrus where all the mechanics and manual labour were carried out. Above their heads, airbenders in wingsuits glided along the currents like swans from building to building. At ground level, however, nonbenders scuttled along the white streets with necks withdrawn into their heavy coats.

The more they went along the street, the more differences Pei encountered. The most immediate difference was the air. Instead of musty and claustrophobic, the air up here was _fresh_ ; winds continually flooded the streets. Even after they had walked far into the city, it continued to roar deafeningly. Instead of the dull grey glass ubiquitous in the Underworks, the entire surface was built from a transparent or white glass. This meant that almost every building was transparent – at times, Pei could peer all the way to the Outer Rim from within one of the streets. Surprised she had not thought of it already, Pei looked down to see through to the Underworks, but the glass under their feet was fully opaque. She unsuccessfully tried to conjure the image of people below them working away as her family once did.

The two of them had come a long way in the past few weeks. Under the guidance of one of her father's men and within an abandoned secluded school, the two had learned basic combat and defensive skills. But despite both learning these skills quickly, their bending was severely limited by their sifu's knowledge of bending arts other than air. Pei, with jabs of her arm, could at most send rocks scattering across the ground. Likewise, Mira could only hold water in the air for the same amount of time as if she simply held the water in her hands. After watching these small deliveries of power, their sifuHideki had realised that earthbending and waterbending were probably restricted, or extended, by certain movements in the same way that airbending is. He instructed the girls to go to his old room in the Underworks and obtain a certain book that would help teach them the correct movements for their bending. As an outlaw, he would be noticed on the surface with minutes and be sent to prison.

Mira stopped suddenly near a statue of an old man in white-glass robes.  
"Here. Zaheer. So the port to the Underworks must be close."

They soon eyed the entrance, guarded by two skyguards in their typical grey wingsuits and gloves. Her loose hair flicked at Pei in the relentless wind. For the first time, Pei saw that Mira's eyes were violet.  
"Alright, those guards won't let us down without the proper authorisation so you need to distract them."  
Pei shook her head, "No, Miss. You haven't been to the Underworks and I grew up there. I know how dangerous it is."  
"But how will you know what to do when you get caught? I don't want you getting hurt." Mira pined sweetly.  
Pei assented, "Alright, we'll go down together. What do we do?"  
Mira answered immediately, "I'll distract those guards. You should do something to distract everyone else." She gestured behind Pei, who whipped around to see some sort of pneumatic street-sweeper.  
"What do I do?" Pei asked, but Mira was already talking loudly to the guards, pointing to a girl with a non-regulation coloured scarf.

Pei followed the street-sweeper nonchalantly, closely inspecting it. It was really a transparent box, with white cogs and parts inside it whirring about. Like everything else in Cirrus, it operated pneumatically via an air canister built into it. She could remove the canister surreptitiously, but it would not make much of a diversion in a busy, windy street.  
She looked around the street hopefully. The guards were now arresting the girl with the coloured scarf. She protested, trying to get out of their grip but one guard raised a glove and fired a dart into her neck. The girl fell still, tranquilised. Pei looked away and examined the rest of the street. Mira had already distracted the guards, she didn't have much time. For the first time, she noticed how completely clean everything was. Not only did the wind carry away debris constantly, but the hundreds of street-sweepers and window-cleaners kept the streets clean and buffered. Pei then felt in her pocket for a small jar that Hideki had given her. She had an idea.  
Only a careful observer would have seen one of her hands dip into her pocket and pull out a small jar. For some unknown reason, certain materials were strictly prohibited in Cirrus: pooled water, metallic materials, open flames, dirt... Getting caught with one of these was punishable by death. The woman then quickly tipped over the jar of not-dirt in front of the street-sweeper, before slowing down and crossing to the other side of the street.

Pei closed her eyes and felt for the dirt. She pictured the feeling when she first earthbent. The invisible fists that she _projected_ from her arms, reaching out to seize the pebbles at her feet. She did the same for the dirt, imagining her fists reaching out, clenching and unclenching. At last, there was something: being far away, it was very slight. But she felt it, and once she had, she could not lose it.  
She lifted the dirt, throwing it to and throw throughout the sweeper. Finally, after a grating sound the machine halted. Pei sighed, everyone continued moving as usual. Suddenly, the box kicked back into life, and began to spin in circles. Filth exploded out of its nozzles all along the pristine streets and walls. It was more than Pei could hope for. It caught the immediate attention of everyone around, including the gliders above. She snuck away smiling, heading for the manhole to the Underworks. But Mira had already gone.  
It didn't take Pei long to realise who the distraction was really intended for.

 **II**

Trinley hovered over the precipice, ready to jump. It wasn't very far at all, and the floor of the dojo was matted, yet still he was terrified to perform his first glide. He slumped against the wooden balcony railing in frustration, folding down his wingsuit. A draft came in through the open window high above the floor and circled around him comfortingly.  
"Just do it, weakling!" – Zoran from the floor.  
For the past three weeks, Trin had been training his airbending from morning until night under his mother's orders. Two of the Senators now had died mysteriously within a fortnight, the second a healthy young woman who had suffocated in a tube accident. As a result, his mother and the remaining Senators were forced to pick up the slack so that she wasn't available to train him, nor could she spare anyone. Instead, Zoran had attempted to train him. This didn't end well. No matter how closely he followed his brother's bending, imitating his every flick and twirl, he had not progressed more than delivering simple jolts of air. At first, he blamed his brother's impatient and self-absorbed teaching method, before he realised that he was simply untalented. Zoran was a natural, he could already do ten times as many things as he could. But airbending, like almost everything he had ever attempted, was not something which came natural to him.

"I can't do it, Zor!" He called down, "I can't."  
Zoran groaned audibly. "You know today's the last day don't you. Nea wants you to be trained, otherwise you're going to be sorting paper-clips."  
"I know, but I can't. It's too much."  
"Guh! I'll call her." He stormed to the door, muttering. "What a waste."

Trin sighed. He walked downstairs and switched off the lights before noticing the chest of movers his mother had left him to watch. He pulled out the very last reel and brushed the dust off and put it in the projector. As soon as the film skittered past the opening white frames, Trin could immediately see that this was much different from the first few. Rather than an overdramatic middle-aged man with glistening teeth, this one was of a teenage girl with a blue arrow painted, or tattooed, on her bare head. Instead of lecturing condescendingly like the man, this girl demonstrated a number of advanced airbending moves such as levitating off the ground in a spout of air and cutting a wooden rod by slicing through the air. She was the wind – she leapt and twirled so fluidly and freely. The boy holding the camera apparently then started laughing and chasing the girl, who screamed and laughed back before the film stopped abruptly.  
Trin could not believe it. He had never before seen any airbender, even masters such as his mother, levitate off the ground without an airbending suit or cause potentially lethal damage without gloves. How could this girl, younger than himself, do the impossible? He moved to the centre of the dojo, more motivated than ever to learn. It was still dark with the lights turned off, and so as he put all of his strength into a fist of air, he tripped over his feet and fell onto his side.  
Shaking his head, he switched the lights back on the dojo. But when he turned around he gasped. An old woman was standing in the centre of the room, facing away from him.  
She was carrying a broom and was covered by a shawl.  
"Woah…" Trin stammered.  
"Oh, sorry," she said, "didn't mean to! Please don't mind me, I'm just sweeping."  
Trin assented and continued practicing his staccato jabs, blushing. Normally he was terrified of strangers, but this was a sweet and clearly non-threatening woman.  
"No!" the woman coughed from behind him.  
Trin ignored it and continued.  
"No!" – the cough again.  
Trin pressed on, before an exceedingly long cough behind him  
"Control the wrist action!"  
Trin whipped around and looked at her with exasperation. "What?"  
The woman massaged her throat, "Sorry?"  
"I need to control my wrist action?"  
"Well I suppose you do."  
Trin went back to his jabs, "How would you know?"  
"Why are your hands so far away from you? The air isn't going to burn you. Who taught you bending?"

Trin halted. "Who are you?"  
"Jinora," she said. With his attention fixed on her, she continued: "Airbending's not about the wrist, or even the arms. Air is all around you, you are only the waystation."  
She held the broom at the tip. "Like a leaf in the wind."  
She moved around in circular motions. At once, all the dust in the room slowly trawled towards her. Trin felt a slight pull on his wingsuit.  
The sound of boots in the hallway. The woman smiled, "I should leave."

She pushed the dust into the corner and walked out the door. A few seconds later his mother came in wearing her black wingsuit, boots and gloves, businesslike as usual.  
"How are you Trinley?"  
"Well-"  
"I heard your training wasn't as good as we'd hoped. We'll still need your mind though, so welcome to the force." She handed him a bag. "Congratulations, your official wingsuit is in there."

"Why is it white?"

"Only experienced skyguards wear grey, and Shadows wear black come on you should know this by now! Your first case starts now, I want you to look into some sabotage on a horn on the West side of the Outer Rim. I want you to spend the day there collecting evidence and statements from people."  
"Okay."  
"Also, make friends because tonight I want you to go the annual Rim party. The Horn Senator will be there so make a good impression, I've put a fancy wingsuit in the bag as well." She gave him a brief one-armed hug, "I'm proud of you, honey. See you tonight!"  
Trin hailed her before she was all the way out of the door.  
"Wait! Who was that cleaning woman that just left? When did we hire her?"  
She frowned, "I don't have time for games, Trinley. There was nobody in the hallway. Good luck with your case, see you tonight."

 **III**

Mira felt the gaze of workers as she strode through the Underworks with the book she had just retrieved. She ignored them, leafing absent-mindedly through the book. A drop of sweat rolled down her forehead and fell onto the page, which she brushed off. The oppressive heat down here was the first thing she had noticed when she climbed down the ladder. The hot air clung to her, drips of sweat continually rolled down her ribs and back. With her thinking obscured by the humid heat, she missed the ladder to return to the surface. It was not until later, when the walkway came to an abrupt turn, when she realised she had lost her way. Sighing and putting the book to her side, she whipped back around and headed back to the ladder but instead came to a wall where the walkway divided either side. This did not ring a bell at all – she had not noticed turning at any point. Intuitively, she turned left.  
The further she walked, it seemed, the more dark and narrow the walkway became. Nobody appeared to be in this section, although Mira could hear faint laughter and footsteps from far behind her, or another level, barely audible over the dull clicking and buzzing of the machines around her. Suddenly, she was no longer hot. Instead, the sweat coating her body chilled her and she began to shiver. She heard, or imagined, the laughter and footsteps getting louder, so she quickened her pace. Still the sounds of the others felt nearer and louder, so she began turning down random walkways, completely losing track of the original path. Soon there became no doubt that at least three men were following her, jeering drunkenly whenever she turned a corner to see they were there. There was no point trying to run from them, she concluded. They would know this place far better than her, and one way or another they would corner her.

 **IV**

Trin gazed anxiously out of the train window at the edge of Cirrus. He was on his way to his first assignment, and had taken one of the trains which ran along a rail suspended all along the edge of Cirrus. If at any point the rail below them failed, they would all fall to their deaths. He shivered, not only at that thought, but at the prospect of doing the interviews, of interacting with strangers without his mother or brother present. For his entire life, Trin had been cripplingly anxious around others. He had managed to avoid dealing with others through home schooling, but even that proved to be futile because his brother would bring home a new batch of friends every week who all wanted to bother him to no end. As the train swung around to the western side of the Outer Rim and moved to a side-track, the fear was unbearable. The hissing of the air canisters ceased, and he wiped the sweat of his hands on his jacket. He was determined to do this case without any interviews.  
But as he climbed the steps leading up to the Rim (the rail was set below to avoid interfering with the airflow to the horns), he realised immediately that that would be impossible. It had been a long time since his mother took he and Zoran to see the horns, he had forgotten how many there were. How was he to know which was the one that had been sabotaged?  
The other passengers brushed passed him and went between two horns. He moved to the side and leant against one, sheltering behind it's opening against the fierce wind. For the first time living in Cirrus, he looked closely at one of the platinum horns which were dotted around the entire Rim. He could see why there were called horns – it resembled his grandfather's tsungi horn. Each one began as a gape big enough to fit three people in before tapering off as a swirl, the tip plunging into the ground. By leaning on it, he could even feel the vibrations and imagined he could hear a deep hum.  
In a city that ran entirely on air, Trin could understand why the sabotage of even one was considered a disgrace. The bender assigned to each horn would guide wind into the gape, were it would be concentrated and forced below the ground. From there, about a third of the air would be used to refill the giant balloons which kept Cirrus afloat, or to power the fans that kept it swaying too much from side to side. The rest of the air would be compressed into canisters that would later be used by pneumatic machinery including the tube system, street-sweepers and the trains. Tiny canisters would also collect any moisture in the passing air, ensuring no pooled water would ever need to be present on Cirrus.

"Hey, what are you doing!?"  
The bender to the horn he was leaning on called out. "You better watch out doing that at this time, you could get shot without question!"  
Trin's fingernails dug into his hands. Someone talking to him, in such an unfamiliar place. His wanted to shut down, or even to run. But this was a perfect opening, so he stepped out to look at the bender clad in a grey suit without wings.  
"I'm actually investigating-"  
"You'll have to speak up," she shouted.  
"I heard there was a saboteur!" Trin shouted, "Could you tell me which horn was sabotaged?"  
She nodded to the side, "Three horns that way, bender should be a big guy."

Trin followed her directions, ducking in the forced winds amidst cries of the benders.  
"What do you want?" The bender was big indeed, obstructing a large part of the horn opening.  
"I'm investigating the violations on this horn last week. Can you tell me what happened?"  
The bender shook his head and answered in a gravelly voice, "Nothing to tell. Someone in a blue mask kept pulling the aperture lever." He gestured to the tail end of the horn.  
"Must have been really stupid, orders are to kill him on sight if he's seen again. I would've thrown him off the Rim myself if I was fast enough."

Trin examined the aperture lever carefully. He frowned. There were multiple reasons why someone would sabotage a horn, but there were much better ways to do it than shutting the aperture which would simply be fixed as soon as the bender noticed it. For the first time, he felt like he needed someone to talk to. He thanked the bender for his help. **  
**

**V**

Stumbling over a port in the darkened glass floor below her, Mira opened it and climbed down the ladder, easing it shut and locking it in place by sliding the lock across. She dropped to the ground and sat on a pipe in the corner and shivered. Although she was terrified, what she felt most was anger that she was afraid in the first place. She hated nothing more than to be bullied, to have her control forfeited to others, especially men.

Just as she thought she had waited long enough and stood up to climb out, she heard their footsteps above her. She stood as still as possible as she watched them walk directly above her, beckoning and whistling for her to come out as you would a cat. She watched the three of them walk over her, appearing as ghosts through the opaque glass: the first, striding overconfidently with a beer-gut, followed by giant and a fidgety, rat-faced teenager. The first two walked by obliviously but the teenager, constantly shifting his gaze around him through his thick glasses, looked down and made direct eye contact with Mira. At first she hoped that he hadn't seen her, but her heart dropped as he halted. Then, miraculously, he nodded to her and jogged ahead to catch up with the other one.

Before Mira could breathe a sigh of relief, however, she heard a slurred voice shout "Wait! What were you looking at!?"  
"What? N-nothing-"  
Mira followed the soles of boots as they tramped above her, and the leader looked directly at her.  
"Nothing, huh?" he grabbed the shirt-front of the teenager and hurled him against the wall. His glasses fell to the ground, and one of the lenses fell through the grate, shattering to pieces beside Mira.  
"I bet you wanted her to yourself you pervert, you're lucky I'm not going to throw you in the middle of the pit for this," the leader muttered as he ripped away the trapdoor. He leapt down, slamming loudly on his boots, grinning at her.

She picked up a shard of glass beside her and took a run at him, but as she raised her fist in preparation of driving into his neck, he held out his palm and felt a gush of force propel her backwards into the wall. The wind was knocked out of her, she dropped the shard of glass and collapsed clutching her stomach. Before she could understand what was happening, she felt the full weight of the man on top of her, her arms and legs hopelessly pinned down. The base of her neck was painfully strained against the pipe. "I dare you to try to kill me again," he implored, "I won't do anything but Daw here might have a problem with that." He gestured to the giant, who had dropped down with the teenager.  
What could she do? His grubby fingers like unwashed potatoes slid up her thighs, then tore at the fabric which stopped them from reaching the end. They then worked on his wingsuit and zipped it down to his thigh before she could prepare herself in any way.  
Despite being determined to show no emotion the sickening feeling in her grew and grew until she loathed this man more than anything. She wanted to destroy them in any way she could. Her hands felt beside her for the shards of glass, but she touched nothing.  
She clawed at his back, feeling for sweat, blood, anything that she could use. She felt bile rising in her throat and she had to force it back down. The hate, the pain, the anger, sickness, the emotional trauma burgeoned inside her, until eventually it became unbearable and she screamed and tried to force it all out of her palms. She was hoping that somehow this would empower her to control his blood, but instead she felt the area she was touching become solid with icy splinters. The man halted suddenly, giving a short gasp before collapsing on top of her.  
Before she could do anything to get out from under the dead man, the giant had already stepped beside her, both furious and terrified "What the heck did you do to him you _bitch_!?" He raised one of his heavy boots above her face.  
She glared at him, willing him to freeze to death.

And suddenly, he did freeze. He fell to the side head landed directly on the pipe with a crack. At first Mira believed she actually frozen him, but she saw a trickle of blood behind his neck. She saw where the shard of glass had been buried deep in it, all the way in, then looked up to see Pei standing at the foot of the ladder, blood smeared over her hand. Despite just killing a man, she looked at Mira sympathetically and immediately rushed over to push the man off.  
"I'm so sorry I wasn't here."  
Mira brushed her off "I'm fine, just grab the book and go. I need to do something."  
"Okay, and he uhh…?" she motioned to the boy in the corner.  
"He tried to stop it, I need to thank him." She nodded to Pei, who climbed the ladder and waited for her.  
Mira stood up and patted her silken garments flat. She stepped over the two bodies gracefully and stood eye-to-eye with the boy.  
"Thank you for trying to rescue me," she smiled sweetly.  
She suddenly leaned in for a passionate kiss, the boy reciprocated with his eyes wide open, not believing his luck. One of her hands pulled out his shirt and slid up his chest. He gave way to a deep breath before seizing stiffly, and falling to the side.  
Pei tried to keep up with Mira's long strides.  
"I thought he helped you?"  
Mira gave a gentle shrug.  
"He watched." 

**VI**

Zoran watched from the doorway with his arms folded as his younger brother adjusted the tie on his fancy wingsuit.  
"So why doesn't it make sense?" he intoned.  
Trin had never been more excited; he wasn't even thinking about the hundreds of people that would be at the ball. "Well you would only shut the aperture if it was sabotage or a prank. But it's easily reversible, so it's not sabotage. And it's way too dangerous to be a prank, especially to do it multiple times _to the same one_."  
"So what? It's not about the horn? It's about the bender? Speaking of, that suit makes you look fat."  
Trin rolled his eyes, "It could be, maybe they were trying to implicate him."  
"Well obviously they failed, because the order's to shoot whoever's in the mask instead of him."  
"Yeah. I suppose." Trin finished combing his hair, and frowned.

 **VII**

By the time they had touched ground near the old school, the sun had dipped. A pale yellow covered Pei as she led the bison into a shed and closed the door. Mira watched her as she did this before passing her and headed towards the main building. She rarely had any respect for anyone, but seeing what Pei had to grow up in as a young girl every day gave her new respect for her.  
"I'd better start dinner," she nodded.  
"What happened to your family?" Mira asked, halting her in her tracks.

Pei faced her, her green eyes shimmering like gems. It was the first question Mira had ever asked her about herself, perhaps it was the first interest she had shown in anyone.  
Pei answered slowly, "My parents worked so hard for me and my brother. Harder than they needed to… Dad couldn't handle it. He left. It was too much for Mum. She got weak and she just couldn't do it anymore. I had to take care of my younger brother until Xaga came along and gave us jobs. You know the rest…"

Mira couldn't think of what to say at the mention of Pei's now deceased brother, and so simply nodded. She rarely considered other people, but it amazed her that Pei could be so kind at times, and yet have enough resolve to protect her and her younger brother from all of the dangers of the Underworks. Later that night laying her own bed, she realised with a rush of warmth that she had made her first friend in her life.

 ****

 **VIII**

Trin stood in the corner of the hall of the party, shuffling uncomfortable in his tight fancy wingsuit. It was his instinct to avoid people at all costs, but he still felt exposed – the wall being transparent.  
"Trinley!" he heard his mother's shriek over the music.  
Immediately, he crept along the wall slowly. If he stayed in one spot, he'd be mauled by his mother; if he moved too quickly, he would draw attention to himself. Without watching where he was going, he slammed his knee into the stage. He looked in front of him and immediately took a step backwards. He was face-to-face with a blue mask.

Somehow Trin knew it was the one in question. It was terrifying, the face of an evil spirit that Trin had seen in a book one time that had given him nightmares. Sharp white teeth and horns protruded from the blue face, grinning at him menacingly. It was seated on a stand facing the crowd, waiting for something. _How did it get here?_ He wondered.

Trin ran through the crowd, looking for the large stature of his mother. His thoughts were clouded, but he felt strongly that something was wrong. It seemed too much of a coincidence that the mask which had haunted the Outer Rim and been implicated in a major crime was now at the head of a Rim party.  
He had finally reached his mother when a voice boomed over the hall from the stage.  
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen!"  
They both looked up to see the portly Senator Tibu raising a glass full of alcoholic milk.  
"Thank you everyone for coming tonight. I won't keep you from having fun too long. Here's to a great year of wind-farming! Thanks to all you benders who keep this city running. Now, before I forget!" He raised a finger, "I've been told it's a tradition for the Senator at this party to wear this mask. Now I don't know why it's a tradition, but considering this guy is a lot better looking than me…"  
He put on the mask amidst applause and laughter and raised his hands to a _ta-da_ from the orchestra.

It suddenly made sense to Trin: the whole purpose of the "sabotage" was to implicate the mask. Now that the order was to kill anyone wearing the mask, the Senator would be in danger as long as he was wearing it. Trin tugged on one of the crossed arms of his mother. "Listen, there's an order along the Rim to kill anyone wearing that mask. We need to take it off him before he leaves."  
His mother shrugged him off, "If that's true, I'm sure the Senator knows about it. He'll remember to take it off."  
"Is that before or after he finishes another glass of milk?" pined Trin.  
"Alright Trinley, if you want to be sure you can wait for him outside. Don't hold your breath, though."

While waiting for the Senator outside the hall in the early hours of the morning, Trin practised his bending. He tried to recall what Jinora had told him: circular, sweeping movements; flowing with the air currents like a leaf in a wind. Despite having some more success than he had previously, he felt like he was still jerky and clumsy.  
At the top of the steps, the hall doors burst open. The last guest, the Senator stumbled down them. Trin acted quickly and braced the large man against falling down completely. He was still wearing the mask.  
He dragged out every "S": "Oh thanks, son. Hey you're Nea's son!"  
"Senator, you need to take off that mask. Your life is in danger."  
"Yeah I tried that," he tugged at the mask, "It's stuck. I'll get my wife to take it off when I go home. If she's there the cheating-"  
"Where's your Shadow? There's an order to kill anyone wearing that mask."  
"Guh I sent him away, such a downer. I'll be fine, I'm the Senator…"  
"It doesn't matter. I'm with the police, I'll escort you."  
Slowly, the two staggered forwards onto the street. Being small, Trin shouldered his arm. A street-sweeper puffed past them.

"Oh I see, the Senators aren't safe anymore so they're jacking up security. You know, what gets me is why these anarchists haven't gone after your mother yet. If it's rules they want to get rid of, then why not get rid of the rule enforcers first?"  
Trin stopped listening. He had sensed something – a tremor along his scalp. He stopped and hushed the Senator. The flap of a wingsuit close to them triggered Trin's instinct. He hurried them into the closest building where they crouched at the bottom of stairs. Transparent walls meant they couldn't hide, but walking in the middle of the street at this time was conspicuous.  
"Oooh…what are we doing?" the words reeked of alcohol.  
"Shut up!" Trin hissed.

The two black wingsuits landed on the street near the building. They crept alongside the building, silent shadows.  
Trin clasped his hand over the Senator's mouth to stop his breathing. Just as he did it, he felt the Senator's face vibrate. _Oh fuck_ Trin thought.  
The man vomited obscenely loudly in the night, coughing and retching after emptying himself. The shadows immediately leapt into action and found the door to the building. Trin hauled Tibu to his feet and, as if he had removed the alcohol from his body, he had suddenly sobered to the situation and together they ran up the stairs. He was surprised when they finally burst through the door onto the roof and he felt the typical fresh roar of air. The two of them ran to the edge of the building. Trin didn't know what to expect, but his heart sunk – the nearest roof was too far away to jump. The ground looked so far away, he couldn't believe how many stairs they had climbed. The wind beckoned Trin forwards. Could he do it? Could he make his first glide while carrying someone else?

He'd left the decision too late. The roof door burst open and within seconds skyguards were standing next to them. Trin put himself between them and the Senator.  
"Hey! I am the son of Senator Nea, and this is Senator Tibu. Don't shoot."  
"I don't care," one of them answered, "We have strict instructions to kill immediately anyone wearing the mask for crimes to Cirrus."

Trin closed his eyes. All he wanted to do was shut down like he always did. He crouched and put his hands over his face. He wanted to go far away, from the roar of the wind and the pristine streets of Cirrus. But there was still more that he could do. He heard the men shuffle forward, the small click of a dart going in place.  
"Like a leaf in the wind," he whispered.  
He swung out his legs, feeling the wind pass around him and soaring under the feet of the policemen, knocking them over. Without hesitation he grabbed fistfuls of Tibu's suit and rolled over the edge with him. It was a terrible mistake. They hurtled downwards without any resistance. Then suddenly, Trin's wings snapped open. He felt the air under them, carrying them gently downwards. At the last several feet, he lost control again and the two fell down into the middle of the street, coughing. They got up once and ran blindly forwards. The impact had hit Tibu hard in the chest, and he coughed as they staggered forwards.

They felt a gust of wind before a shadow landed in front of them. They turned around to see the other one waiting there. Three others came, closing in the circle.

It was like a nightmare. Trin shut down again, this time not being able to stop it at all. It was hopeless. He had failed, and now a human being, never mind a Senator, would die because of his weakness.

" _Hey!_ " the shadows around him stirred at the scream from down the street. Trin looked up to see a slender figure in the distance wearing another blue mask. Or not so much a mask as a large sock painted blue with a smiley face.  
"Yeah, hi." He raised a hand and shot a plume of fire above him.

This sent the shadows into a frenzy who lunged after the figure. The figure then squealed and ran away.  
"Well, I think they found the real saboteur," he laughed. There was no response. Tibu was lying face down.  
"Senator?"  
With a grunt he rolled the man over. He dropped to his knees in shock. His face was purple, eyes bulging. What was more horrific was a purple dart, the same colour of the face, protruding from the neck.

There was only one pair of gloves Trin had seen that were purple, and shot purple darts like this one. They belonged to Hideki, one of his mother's closest colleagues before he had disappeared. Trin had much to think about.

 **Chapter Four  
** **The Train**

 **I**

Trin could see the enemy. Standing there, on the central pole. All he had to do was get closer to him, then he could knock him off to his death below. He hopped over the poles silently, deftly. Since his brief encounter with the strange old woman, his balance had improved dramatically. At last, with the enemy's back to him he was close enough to strike. He whipped his hand through the air in front of him, releasing a slice of wind towards the enemy. Having no time to react, he turned around and stumbled backwards. Trin waited for the thud of the fall, but it did not come.  
He hopped to a closer pole and looked down. Indeed, there was no body below. Suddenly, he noticed two hands on top of the pole.  
"Shit."  
The enemy's legs swung around the pole, shooting jets of flame towards Trin. Startled, he fell backwards. He tried to open his wings but it was too late: he slammed to the floor of the dojo.

Zoran dropped next to him, laughing, "Oh man! That was your closest one yet! Best of…seventeen?"  
"Nup. I don't see any situation in which I'm going to be trying to knock someone off a pole."  
"How do you know?"  
"If I've managed to get them to the compromising position of balancing on a single pole, then I don't think I'll have trouble knocking them off."  
"Well clearly you do. And we're also training your balance!"  
"Don't we have better things to be doing?"  
"Guh, yeah…But that's what your brain's for! Have you thought about the next attack on the Senator? Or how we're going to find earth and water and deciding who to crown as Avatar?"

Trin was thinking. The evidence seemed to implicate their mother to be involved with the killings of the Senators: how an attempt on her life had not yet been made, how her former right-hand man who'd disappeared had almost definitely killed Senator Tibu. Yet while it was easy enough for Trin to believe these things, he knew his brother was too sensitive to connect the idyllic figure of their mother with the crimes. As such, he hadn't told him yet, but he had been thinking about a pattern in regards to the killings.

"I think each of the deaths of the Senators is linked to their department." He announced.  
Zoran frowned in refutation but he continued: "The Senator for Treasury had his heart attack in a vault; Senator Zana regulated infrastructure and was suffocated in the tubing system; and Tibu was killed along the Outer Rim."  
Zoran was comically agape, "Holy crap! _Trin_ , you're so right. We have to tell Nea."  
"No!" Trin replied too quickly, shuddering at the thought of their mother's reaction. "It's just a theory."  
"Yeah but it's a good one. Come on, don't worry I'll give you most of the credit."  
"No!" he grabbed Zoran's sleeve of his wingsuit. It reminded Trin of the thing Zoran wanted most in the world. "If we figure it out by ourselves, she might give you a spot on the force. You could be the first non-bending shadow in Cirrus."  
Zoran's eyes welled up and lifted Trin up with a hug. "Aww bro, sometimes I forget you care about me!"  
"Sure. So, we should start thinking about who could be next."  
"Oh right. Umm…well there's Nea." Zoran gasped, "You don't think she…!?"  
"She's really important, so if she wasn't one of the first ones I think they'll leave her to the end-"  
"They think." Zoran said defiantly.  
"Same with the President."  
"Well okay, that leaves the Senator for Healing, for Agriculture, for Transport…That could be doable, he rides the bison all the time. All it would take is one push."  
"True, but security is so high around the Senators now. I don't think there would be open to attack in any part of their normal routine."  
"Okay, so you mean special events? Oh! They're bringing out the old train today!"  
"Oh wow."  
"The Transport Senator will be riding it. It hasn't been used in ages – someone could've rigged it with explosives – that old coot won't know what hit him."  
Trin nodded, "What should we do? It's today, we're too late."  
"No! We sneak aboard long before they get on to find any bombs, disable them and then hop off before the ceremony. It's genius!"  
"Then why does my tummy feel tingly?" Trin asked.

 ****

 **II**

They found the old train in a storage unit along a side-track. Unlike most of the other buildings in Cirrus, the storage unit was wooden. Trin noted this itself as suspicious – it would be all too easy for someone to sneak in unnoticed.  
Noticing the storage unit was open, they went inside. Trin followed Zoran's lead and tried to walk casually behind him. They found the train inside; quite a small one of about four carriages, it was made from a black material that had recently been polished. The front carriage let out a small puff of steam – he had never seen a machine before that had not been powered pneumatically. A very important idea stirred in Trin's mind, but before it could be formed they were halted by two shadows.  
"Hey kids, you can't be here."  
"Aww, but we just wanted to see the choo-choo!" Zoran said childishly.  
The guards looked at each other, "Do you need help?"  
"I think so."  
"Leave."

"Mission successful." Trin said outside the unit.  
"Shut up! We don't have much time left, so how about I get my mask and distract those guards so you can go on the train?"  
Trin shook his head, "That's so risky, they just saw you."  
Zoran sighed, "Yeah…Let's just tell Nea. We'll get the credit anyway for figuring it out."  
Trin closed his eyes. Telling their mother was the last thing he wanted to do.  
"Alright, I have an idea."

Firstly, Zoran ripped off the sleeves from his wingsuit. (Not the wings as Trin suggested, he realised. He felt sorry for his brother, still wanting to be a shadow despite not being able to airbend.) He then set fire to them and threw them at the front entrance. The guards noticed the smoke and went out to investigate, leaving the boys free to go on the train.  
"Oh man, I was so terrified!" Zoran whispered, his hands clasped to his thighs. "Okay so what are we looking for exactly?  
"I don't know," replied Trin. "Anything suspicious."

Together they looked everywhere – under every seat, in the storage cupboards. They even peered through to the engine room, surreptitiously so the captain wouldn't see them. But apart from a gas cylinder running along the ceiling of each carriage, neither of them could find anything out of the ordinary. 

Trin shook his head at Zoran who shrugged. "I was so sure we were right. Oh well, back to square one…"

Before they could figure out an escape plan, they hear a large hoot coming from the engine room. The boys looked at each other in horror as the train began to trundle to life. They rushed to the window, only to see that they were too late. The train was already on the Rim track, above the clouds. There was no escape.

 **III**

They decided to take refuge in a small closet in the carriage behind the engine while it had stopped for the Senator and his guards to board. Zoran's ear was pressed up against the door, listening to the Senator's bodyguards pacing and conversations. Trin was looking at an exposed, occasionally sparking wire in the roof while listening to the Senator's speech outside.

"…the importance of seeing old technology like this. How far we've come in advancement of our technology, our security…"

Suddenly, Trin thought of something that was so obvious, he berated himself. He had finally understood the reason why every machine in this Cirrus was pneumatic, why itfloated so high above the earth and why every building was built from a material impervious to earth, fire and water. Perhaps even why, as Korra had alluded to in her note, the air nation had prevailed over the other three nations. They had built a stronghold that was almost unreachable to the other armies. Even if they had reached Cirrus, they would not be able to penetrate these walls, leaving them open to attack. Trin felt the realisation spread throughout him like boiling tea – he had uncovered a startling secret about Cirrus he had grown up in and knew so well. He had to tell Zoran straight away, and tapped him on the shoulder. But when his brother turned to him, he was taken aback by his completely pale face.

"What's wrong?"  
"We were right, I heard two of the guards talking. They're going to kill the Senator."  
Trin's epiphany faded away, "What? Now? All of them?"  
"I don't know, but we need to act now. Come on!"  
Trin held him back, " _No!_ " he hissed.  
Zoran shrugged him off, "What the heck are you doing? We're here to save him!"  
"No!" Trin protested again. "There's about five of them, right? If we go out there blazing, they're all going to turn on us. Even if only two of them are assassins."  
Zoran grabbed fistfuls of his own hair as if trying to pull them out. "So what? I've already faced a whole room, and I'm fine."  
"But they weren't there to _kill you_. These guys, whether they are good and think you're trying to kill the Senator, or whether they're bad and think you're trying to stop them from killing the Senator…either way they are going to try to kill you. You're not ready for that many, and I'm definitely not ready for that many."  
"Guh, so what, then? We wait?"  
Trin nodded, "I'm sorry."  
Zoran sat down, with his head in his hands.

It was unnerving, having no idea what was happening. They could hear the individual components of the old train rattle against each other. The floor vibrated underneath them as the train reached full speed. How many loops would the train do – how much longer? How long had they already been on the train?

Suddenly, there was another noise. Zoran lifted his head and put his ear against the door again.  
He frowned at Trin: "It sounds like… _cheering_."  
Against Trin's protests, he opened the door slightly. Indeed, all five of the guards were standing at the backmost carriage, cheering and clapping each other on the backs. With only part of the door being transparent, he couldn't see exactly what they were standing around and looking down at. But he could guess. He pulled his head back in.  
"Trin, they did it. They were all in on it. Let's bring them down. We can stop this now."  
He supinated his hand, from which an orange and red flame blossomed.  
"No! These people are dangerous, they obviously know how to kill."  
"Look, I don't care. Can you imagine if I stopped this right now? I'd be made a shadow for sure. I know you're not ready to fight, but I am so just stay here." He marched past Trin and had opened the door before Trin grabbed him by the back of his wingsuit. With every bit of strength he pulled Zoran back and threw him against the wall. His head bumped against a pipe, leaving a welt on his forehead. He whipped around and beared down on Trin, furious.  
"Wait!" Trin cried out, "What's that pipe you just hit?"  
Zoran glanced behind him, still angry, "Gas, why?"  
"Because I think there's a better way we can kill them."  
Zoran rubbed his forehead, "If you're just trying to stop me..."  
"I'm not!" Trin went to the gas pipe and touched it, before looking up at the exposed wire which occasionally sparked. "I think if I concentrate enough I can burst this pipe by bending the gas."  
"So?"  
"Well this wire keeps sparking, I think every time the train brakes. If we break the pipe, and get to the engine room and brake the train…"  
Zoran gasped "Kaboom! But how won't we die?"  
Trin bit his lip. With his recent epiphany, he knew that trains would be fireproof. But would that apply to this old train? It was, after all, running on steam and therefore susceptible to water-benders. But what choice did they have? If they did nothing, the assassins could find them and kill them anyway.  
"The door to the engine room should be fireproof. As long as we keep it closed, it should protect us from the explosion."  
Zoran closed his eyes, "Okay. I trust you. But wait, for a genius you have no common sense. If that door's fireproof, won't the doors to the other carriages be fireproof? The explosion won't get them all."  
Trin cupped his hands to his mouth. He was completely right, his whole plan was torn to shreds.  
"Okay…" he said slowly, "We're going to have to release the gas and expose the wire in every carriage."  
Zoran picked up on the idea, "I think I can pull down the wire in the other three carriages…I'll just have to stop bending as soon as the gas is released. But what are you going to do? I don't think I can look after you as well."  
Trin nodded "I'll have to go on the roof, I'll figure it out."  
Zoran smiled, "Your balance was really good today. You can do it." He hugged Trin tightly: "This is going to be so dangerous, but I think it's the only way we're getting out of here alive."  
Trin assented. "Just get back to the engine room as fast as you can."

The two of them burst out of the door at the same time. Trin went left, towards the engine room. Zoran went right and began walking between the carriages, towards the five guards.

 **IV**

Three carriages, three wires. Five guards. He couldn't even fully use his bending.  
 _I need all the luck I can get._ Zoran thought as he moved in his bare feet, crouching below the inter-carriage windows. _No, not luck. Skill. I need to be my best._ He finally reached the door to the last carriage (or the first carriage), and ducked below. He was sure they wouldn't know he was there, and so knew that for at least this carriage he would simply be able to take them by surprise. Reaching up to the latch on the door, he slowly pulled it down, ready to spring forward. Suddenly, a guard pushed the door opened outwards, knocking Zoran on his back. For a second, the guard gazed at him in shock.

Zoran completely forgot his plan. He shot jets of flame from his feet at the guard who in turn stumbled backwards, tripping over his legs. By the time Zoran launched back onto his feet, the other guards had readied themselves behind the fallen guard and the body of the Senator. He recognised some from his encounter at his grandfather's house, although this time they were clad in black wingsuits – they were verified shadows. Simultaneously, they thrust their hands towards him. Zoran launched to the side, behind the inter-carriage partition, narrowly avoiding an array of darts carried by a powerful gust.

Once again, he was in an impossible situation. How could he compete with these five trained soldiers, when he was only an amateur? Even if he was a firebending master, he still had the problem of limiting the fire in order to avoid prematurely igniting the gas. He sensed some of them moving towards him. He had to act quickly - if he was caught in between the five of them, they could easily take him down.  
Putting his hands around the side, he fired two low but powerful streams of flame. Amidst their cries he launched into the carriage, hopped on the top of a seat before punching through the roof and ripping down the electrical cord. He quickly ducked below the seat, another volley of darts whizzing over his head. Now he was truly stuck – darts were continually being fired, sticking into the wall beside him and around him. He considered taking one out to attack them – but this time they weren't going anywhere near him. They were going to wait until he emerged, and then kill him. He couldn't even stick out a hand because it would be attacked instantly. For the first time, his natural talents wouldn't save him – he had to think like Trin.  
He closed his eyes. "What do I do, bro? They've beaten me."  
His brother's cynical drawl came to him vividly, "Why does that matter? Your goal isn't to beat them. Plus I'm so much slower than you so I haven't broken through any of the pipes yet – okay now you're just putting words in my mouth."

Zoran knew what to do. He crouched low to the floor. Extending his hands under the seat in front of him, he focussed on the feet of the guards, jostling and edging closer towards him. He summoned all his fear and anger into the palms of his hands: his mother favouring Trin despite his loyalty to her, sitting around and not bending while his brother airbent and solved cases, the death of his father in some of his earliest memories. His hands began to glow with power until he thought he would explode. He roared as superheated fire burst forth towards their legs. He heard their cries as they hopped out of range, the singe of burning flesh. The seats glowed and melted before him, too bright to look at. He rolled out from under the seats and jumped through the carriage, slamming the door shut behind him. He braced against their powerful airbending until an incensed guard with a moustache and curly hair charged at the door, physically bursting through. Zoran stumbled backwards, but before he could get his footing the man through a series of gestures sent him flying backwards. He flew through the air eternally before slamming into the door on the other side of the carriage. Winded, he collapsed on his knees. The moustached man marched towards him, the others tailing him, some limping. Zoran noticed with small satisfaction that one did not follow them, instead was sitting and clutching his foot.  
Before Zoran could even get to his feet he felt himself be pulled off the ground, and fly window, hitting it side-on. He felt his cheek cut against one of his teeth as he wavered on top of the seat. With great difficulty, he again punched through the roof and had just wrapped a finger around the wire before being thrown down to the ground, surrounded by the four shadows.

For the second time in his life he felt the horrible sensation of air being pulled out from his lungs. He tried to lash out to one of the guards but they had all backed away from him. He lunged regardless, spurting out weak flicks of fire that fizzled out before reaching them. The world had started to go black, he could no longer hear the roar of the train or the sound of his own spluttering. At last, he felt the dregs of oxygen be ripped from him.  
 _This is it_ he thought.  
 _It's over_.

When he was far away from his body, he had the vague notion that his lungs were desperately sucking in air. He got closer to his body and as he did, he could hear the muffled cries of the guards, and the dull vibrations of the train beneath him. At last he returned to his body, in time to hear the hiss of the gas pipe above him, and the rallying of the shadows.

At last it made sense – Trin must have broken through the pipes in the last two carriages. This had alerted the guards, who stopped killing him. If Zoran had any fogginess left, it was cut through sharply by the next thing he heard:  
"There must be another one. You two, get to the top and kill the bastard."

The words electrocuted Zoran. He stuck out his feet and tripped over the two guards moving towards the engine room. He leapt to his feet, but the two other shadows behind him seized him and hurled him backwards. He stumbled, but this time did not lose footing. The shadows hunting Trin were on the move again, so Zoran leapt forwards but was buffered by a wall of air generated by the moustached man.  
Zoran glanced at the gas pipe, generating a haze. He was so restricted without his bending, but he had to do something. The two shadows had almost reached the engine room now.  
"Wait!" he cried, catching their attention. He raised his hands. "This train is filled with gas. If you go up there, I'm bringing us all down. Even my br-partner up there."  
The moustached man stepped forwards, centimetres from Zoran's hands.  
"You won't do that," he sneered.  
Zoran's hands trembled.  
"Go. Kill him!" he announced to his fellow guards, who disappeared through the engine room door.

Zoran roared and boxed his ears with his fists, before shoulder-charging through the two of them. He zig-zagged, avoiding darts and vacuums of air before entering the next carriage. In a fluid manoeuvre he leapt on top of a seat, punching the roof and ripping down the last wire. Before the two could get near enough to him he leapt down and rolled through the engine room door, slamming it shut behind him. He locked it and turned. The captain of the train was on the ground – Trin had successfully knocked him out – but the two guards must have already climbed the ladder.  
"I'm coming Trin…" Zoran said, inexplicably slurring. He raised a hand to the ladder but could not grip it, he felt overly lethargic and numb. At the sound of laughter, he turned behind him where the two guards were grinning at him. Instinctively, he looked down at his leg where a transparent dart was protruding.  
 _I'm sorry brother…_ he thought before collapsing.

 **V**

Trin had never been more proud of himself. He had knocked unconscious the guard which had terrified him because he had a phobia of the sight of blood. He had then fearlessly climbed to the top of the speeding train, where he had to rely on his newfound balance to make his way to the back of the train. It was the most terrifying thing he had done – they were above the clouds! Finally he had burst two of the three gas pipes through a powerful and dextrous flex of his airbending. Only a month ago he had never done anything extraordinary, his greatest feat was downing half a chicken in a minute. Now he was at least a capable airbender that had accomplished things he had thought incapable.

He laid down on the roof, intense wind tearing through him. After wiping the sweat on his wingsuit, he glided his hands over the polished black surface, until he "gripped" the gas within the pipe. It was a strange sensation, holding air; it felt solid, but if he gripped too hard the fistfuls of gas would burst. He moved it side to side, up and down erratically and quickly until he had built up enough momentum and felt it burst through the pipe. Smiling in satisfaction, he had begun to prop himself on his knees when he was slapped with a gust more powerful that being on top of the train.

He felt himself be tossed high backwards, be turned sideways and upside down. It was terrifying – he lost all sense of where he was in relation to the train. He had been in the air for much too long - had he been knocked off completely? At last, he felt the surface of the train sliding under him. He pressed down against it and slid to a stop – all the way on to the last carriage. His two assailants glided towards him effortlessly. Trin had forgotten everything he had learned, and jabbed towards them, but the wind thrashing against him from the train suffocated his bending. The two shadows laughed.

They stepped forwards and pushed out their hands, one releasing air, the other a dart. Trin instinctively ducked, both avoiding the dart and bracing against the wind. It was one of the few times he felt grateful for being short. The guards exchanged glances and moved closer, this time both attacking with strikes through the air. Trin ducked again, and this time tried to gesture upwards to propel himself downwards. Instead, it gave him awkward footing and so he toppled backwards. Strangely, without looking he knew at least one of them was racing towards him. Instinctively, he lifted all four of his limbs and frantically bent air upwards. The assailant who had launched himself at him was buffered and flew overhead off the train. A dart grazed past Trin's neck. The guard stretched out her wingsuit, and within seconds landed back on the train, this time behind Trin.

Trin swore. He was trapped in between them. But thinking quickly, he realised the one behind him would not bend because it would only push him further from the edge. Realising this, he focussed his attention on the one in front him, and ducked again to avoid his blow.

He heard a click from behind him and looked to see her direct her glove at him. _Right_. _I forgot about gloves._ He fixated on the glove and strafed, showing her that he could avoid it. But something was wrong he realised as he felt something shatter under his step. The dart: the shadow wouldn't have had time to reload another one. By the time he had the click from behind, his realisation that he had been played had come too late. He whipped around in time to see the dart leave the glove and whizz towards his head. Instinctively, he closed his eyes. Somehow he could feel the dart moving towards him, and he shifted his head around it. When he opened his eyes, he looked behind him to see the guard in shock. The dart had struck her in the chest. She fell backwards.

The train built distance between them quickly, but Trin could still see her pull out her wings, the momentary float before the horror in her expression, and her rolling through the air sideways. She didn't leave a hole in the clouds as Trin had expected, instead disappearing into the milky void.

"You. Bastard."

The guard behind him was shaking, face red, eyes wet. He pulled his gloves off and threw them off the side of the train. Trin watched them disappear over the edge.

Trin put his foot forwards and held out his fists comically. The guard lunged and gripped him by the neck before lifting him. Trin dug his fingernails into the hands but he did not even flinch. Instead, he walked to the side and held him over the edge. His feet dangled, desperate to make contact with the ground. Trin's face was turning purple, his fingernails so deeply embedded in the man's hands that they were bleeding.

"You're not going to die so easily," the guard seethed and hurled him onto the train. Trin scooted backwards, gasping.

"GET UP!" he roared. "I know what you're doing, but neither of us is going to leave this train until the other is dead."

Trin got to his feet reluctantly, just in time to narrowly avoid a sharp slice through the air. Despite going against the wind, it was so powerful that it tore through his left wing. The guard then tore his own left wing.

"Good. That settles it."

He cut through the air again, again and again, each time screaming an anguished battle-cry.

Trin hopped left, hopped right, tripped over his feet and fell on his back, the last sword of air sailing horizontally over him by inches. The fact they were going against the wind meant almost nothing - if one of these hit him, it would surely lacerate his skin. He rolled to his side to avoid three more whips of air which each scored the wood panel. He then jumped over a low horizontal slice. The barrage continued, Trin becoming worn out from avoiding each blow while not being able to land any on the guard, who showed no signs of slowing.

 _This is so not worth it_ he thought.

At last a slice seemed to strike Trin, who once again fell on his back, writhing on the ground. The guard came to his side and kicked him. "Get up, fool! Where's your honour"

Trin suddenly recovered and swept his hand along the ground. The incensed guard was lifted off his feet and onto his back. Before he could arise, Trin waved a full circle and released it, blasting the man who rolled over the edge. Trin walked to the edge and gazed down to see the guard clinging to the edge.

""You dirty bastard! Pull me up and fight like a man. If one of us is going to die, it will be by our sword."

Trin nodded and knelt. He grabbed his wrists and started to pull him up before throwing him backwards. "Airbenders don't have swords."

 **VI**

When Trin climbed down the ladder, he found the captain conscious, screaming at him and pointing to a lump on his head. Trin prepared to knock him out again when he saw his brother's body, slumped against the door. He raced at once to his side, "Zoran? Come on, wake up!"  
He wasn't breathing. Trin grabbed his shoulders and tried vainly to stir him awake.

Instead, he heard laughter from behind the door. He stood up and make eye contact with the two guards who leered at him. The moustached man grinned and waved his glove at him triumphantly.

Trin turned to the captain, "Stop this train at the next stop."  
The captain moved when he saw the intensity of his gaze. He gripped the brakes lever, and pulled the brakes slowly.

Trin looked back at the guards just in time to smile at them sardonically. The skyguards, his brother's murderers, looked at each other before the explosion.

It was more than the senses could handle. A "BOOM" that was deafening, the blinding orange and yellow and the heat that seeped through the door. As Trin had hoped, the door endured the blast and the carriages were torn from the engine, the blackened wrecks crumpling together before falling off the tracks. However, the force was so strong it lifted the entire back of the engine. Zoran's body slid down and hit the control panels, Trin tried to brace himself but soon followed.

"What the heck did you do!?" The captain screamed.

But just before the quarter that remained of the train was fully upright, it slammed back down. The captain went back to the control panel, shaking with his face pale, muttering to himself.

Trin felt no triumph. He slumped to the ground, his head in his hands.

"Trinley?" he thought he heard.

"I'm sorry, Zoran" he cried.

"I'm not dead, you idiot!" Trin looked up to see his big brother propping himself up on his hands. For the first time in which he initiated human contact, Trin launched himself at him and hugged him.

"Well actually I think I was dead, but something shook me awake…"

"We did it, Zor. We're on our way back, now."

Zoran stood up and raised his fist, "Yes! Skyguards, here I come!"

Trin shook his head, but couldn't help smile slightly. He allowed himself to hope. _Maybe things are going to work out._

By the time the train had rolled into the station, the captain collapsed. It was sunset, somehow they had been on the train for hours. The boys, exhausted, climbed down the steps into the crowd that had milled. Zoran raised his fists triumphantly, but instead of applause, there were some shocked murmurs that passed through the crowd. At the front of the crowd stood their mother. For the first time Trin could remember, she was crying albeit slightly. Her face did not change from its stoic mien even as the tears fell.

"Mother, we did it!" Zoran cried excitedly. He then noticed her expression, before looking at Trin, whose head was lowered.  
"What's wrong?"

Their mother's voice did not waver: "Zoran and Trinley, I'm arresting you for suspicion of murder of one or more Senators."

 **Chapter Five  
** **Burning Earthwards**

 **I**

The rider whipped the air bison to make it go faster, a sight that always made Pei cringe. It seemed ludicrous that with all their advancements, the Government had yet to invent something which could carry people up to Cirrus. Instead, they had enslaved flying bison who worked themselves to exhaustion making continuous trips.  
"Faster!" Mira cried out, "You'll have time to rest when you're waiting for us!"

Pei tried to shut out the sounds of the ensuing whips and clenched her eyelids. She still could not decide her opinion on the girl she had been tasked to bodyguard. There was no doubt that she was resilient, showing no outward signs of being affected by the attack. And for her part, she had become more tolerant of Pei, maybe even to the point of seeing her as equal. Yet despite these things, Pei sensed something truly evil in her nature. She saw glimpses of this during their training with Hideki. Herself, apparently a natural at earthbending frustrated Mira, whose waterbending consisted of being able to pull out difference shapes of ice from water.

The small bison landed as gracefully as an armadillo lion. Pei heard glass jars rattle somewhere on Mira's person, and the several rocks knuckle together under her own outfit.  
"Woops! S-Sorry about that, girls." The driver cried out.  
"Yes, well… thankfully this is the last time we'll be returning to this stupid city…" Mira turned to Pei, revealing a twisted smile, "If all goes well."

 **II**

In the old black-glass prison on Cirrus, in their temporary cell, it was as if the brothers' roles had been reversed. Zoran, normally restless and energetic sat patiently on the bench, wearing a smile as if he was amused by this whole situation. Trin, however, paced up and down the cell, continually touching the scrunched-up note in his pocket a guard had surreptitiously handed him.  
 _Infirmary. Sundown._

He couldn't see through the darkened glass but he knew the time must be close. Somehow, they would both need to be in the infirmary by sundown. He had no idea who was behind the note, or what would be waiting for them, but he knew what the alternative would be. The two of them were alleged to have killed state leaders, and whatever their defence could be, they would surely be thrown into the inescapable prison.

But there was a problem. Trin glanced at his brother, waiting patiently for their mother to come and rescue them. There was no way Trin could convince Zoran to make an escape attempt. Doing so would mean direct defiance of the state, and worse – of their mother. Zoran would not defy his dream of working as a shadow for her, not after how close they had come. There was not much else Trin could do.

"Nea is behind the killings!" he blurted.  
"Excuse me?" Zoran stood up immediately. "Are you saying our mother, who raised us single-handedly, is the _enemy_?"  
Trin shrugged, "It fits. I saw the dart in Tibu. It was purple, like Hideki's. Also don't you think it's strange that she hasn't been targeted yet?"  
Zoran's face rouged. He moved towards Trin, "It fits!? She's not a piece of one of your shitty little puzzles, you dickhead."  
"But it makes sense, doesn't it? If it was a stupid idea, you would be laughing."

Zoran clenched his fists and tensed, before taking a swing at his brother. To both their surprises, Trin dodged it by side-stepping. He then jabbed his fist into Zoran's face awkwardly, but with enough force to give him a bloody nose.

Zoran's second punch did not miss.

 **III**

"The Senator is coming to have a word with you." The guard announced gravely into the infirmary, a small room of two beds. Zoran laid across the two beds while Trin sat on the floor.

"Thank you!" Zoran called out through the excessive wad of bandages he had clasped to his face, "Finally I can talk to a normal person."

Trin let the comment wash over him. In truth, he was terribly anxious knowing his mother was coming. It was already past sundown, and he was terrified that she would arrive before their mysterious saviours. Even worse, what if they arrived at the same time?

Footsteps in the hallway. Trin's hands began sweating. As they drew closer, he could discern two different sets – one lighter than the other – but it could still be his mother with a guard. He heard the man guarding the door call out, with no response. Trin was shaking now. The guard uttered a muffled cry before slamming against the glass doors and stopping.  
"What the…" Zoran started.  
Trin stood up. _Did I lead us into a trap?_

The doors burst open and Zoran stood up now but not out of fear, but because a beautiful girl had entered the room. She had striking dark eyebrows, black hair in a high ponytail and was dressed in white silks.  
Zoran made it to her in no time, bent down and kissed her hand.  
"You shouldn't!" the girl giggled shrilly.  
"I must! This is no place for a girl."  
Another girl with chestnut skin and a heavy gait had entered the room with the girl, but the three others did not mention this.  
She stepped forward now: "Hi guys, it's nice to meet you but we're in a rush so we need to go now."  
Trin felt relieved, someone else was representing his fears about this dangerous situation.  
"Oh, you old people are always so fussy about time!" pined Mira.  
"I think you're actually older than me," Pei muttered.  
"What's going on?" Zoran asked.

Nobody replied for a moment, until Trin started in his weak, quiet voice, "I got a note to meet in the infirmary at sundown, so I got us here and I assume these people are to help us escape."  
" _What_." Zoran muttered, facing Trin who braced himself for another fist to the face.  
Mira placed perfumed fingers on Zoran's forearm. It seemed to tranquilise him immediately.  
"It's okay, you can trust us," she started with a sideways glance to Trin. "What are your names?"  
"I'm Zoran and this is my…" he scratched his nose, "brother Trinley."  
"Trin."  
"Nice to meet you, Zoran. My name's Mira, and this is my friend Pei."

She seemed so calm, despite knowing the direness of their situation Trin thought. Already, he did not trust her.

"Mira…" Pei started.  
"Your brother's right, I'm afraid. We're here to help you get out."  
"What?" Zoran's voice went high, "I don't want to get out! I don't want to go behind my mother's back. We'll be fugitives!"  
Trin and Pei both noticed a small spark of impatience in Mira's voice: "I'm afraid there's no other choice. There's people out to get us right now that are out of your mother's control."  
"What? Why us?"  
Mira let out a small sigh, before turning to Pei. "Show him."

Pei nodded and took out three pebbles. The pebbles trembled for a second before levitating above her hand and rotating in a circle.

Trin's jaw dropped.  
"No. Way!" Zoran cried. "So you guys are earth and waterbenders!? We've been looking for you."  
Pei hushed him.  
"That's a cool move, mine works more like-"

"We'll have time for show-and-tell later!" Mira blurted, before laughing away her comment. Pei, Mira and Trin all blew a synonymous sigh of relief as they went through the doors behind Zoran.

They had only walked a few steps in the grey and white glass-tiled hallway before halting. Three guards had appeared, who halted as well.

Before anyone said anything, Mira stepped forwards and called out to them: "You three! Get here now!"  
"What are you _doing_?" Zoran whispered, but Mira showed him her palm.  
"My friend and I are new here." She told the guards when were closer "We're escorting these two to the bison." She gestured to the boys.  
The guards looked at each other, "Why aren't they cuffed?" one with a braid enquired.  
"We weren't told anything about that." Pei said.  
"Maybe they thought we could handle it better than most." Mira elaborated. "Anyway, you three should come with us for safety. These are dangerous criminals.

The guard with the braids face flushed, "We know who they are. Let's go."

The group began to move forward. Trin, in his nervousness, went forward too quickly and stood on the tail of Mira's dress. With a clink, tinctures of water rolled out from under her outfit and smashed on the floor.

Everyone went still. Zoran and Trin acted first, thrusting their palms forward. The fiery wind knocked two of the guards backwards, whom they chased after.  
Meanwhile, the guard with the braid had his glove aimed at Mira, who did not move. Three rocks dropped beside him.  
"Do not pick those up," he instructed Pei "Put your hands above your head."

Pei did so. Somehow, before he could move, the rocks jumped and wrapped around the man's arm, pulling it upwards where he fired a large dart into the roof. Mira reached down and performed the only waterbending she had learned: ice. She pulled a rudimentary icy sword from the puddle of water, and in a fluid movement sliced the gloved hand off the guard. He screamed hauntingly.  
"Mira!" Pei admonished.  
Mira shrugged, and gripped the head of guard with two hands. "Desperate times" she laughed. The frozen man thudded to the ground.

In their fight, Zoran had shoved Trin aside and was fighting the two guards himself, ducking the blasts of air before punching wheels of flame forward. Seeing the girls had more than finished off the guard they were battling, Trin swung his arm low, knocking the guards backwards where Zoran promptly kicked an arc of fire into them. They slammed into the wall and no longer moved.  
Zoran shoved Trin, "Why did you do that!? I was going fine."  
Trin shrugged, "We didn't have hours to spare."  
"Hours!?"

"Let's go guys." Pei said. They moved forward again, Trin looking worriedly at Mira's frozen sword and the pattern of blood on her face.

"Turn right!" Pei called out to Zoran when they reached the end of the hallway. Zoran did so, and slammed into a glass wall.  
"Are you sure?" Zoran said, rubbing his head.  
"Definite, we came in through this way…They must have blocked it." She looked around desperately. "We'll have to go through the cells."  
"The cells!?" Mira said, a little loudly "You mean, prisoners?"  
Pei looked at her sympathetically, "Don't worry, they'll be locked up."  
"Oh, no. I wasn't worried!" Mira laughed excessively, raising her sword.

"What I don't get," Zoran started, "is if they can close off that part of the hallway, why wouldn't they close the rest of it off?"  
The question was lost on the other three; Mira and Pei had already started doing what Trin had learned to do – block out the incessant chatting from Zoran.

They were moving quickly now. Under Pei's direction, they had to make up for lost time given that the route through the cells was longer. At last they all slowed when they saw the door to the prison cell room; a single heavy door that was already fully open. It framed nothing but black – it appeared as if the lights were not on. Mira stepped forward and went first, Trin hung back.

Trin and Zoran's holding cell had seemed like a palace to this place. They stood along a raised walkway which ran about a hundred metres to a rectangle of light on the other side. The cells themselves were set below the walkway where they could be reached by ladders, but in the darkness the ladders simply dropped into the void.

"Are any inmates still here?" murmured Pei.  
As if in response, a maniacal paroxysm of laughter sounded below them.  
"Only the ones too crazy to move…" Zoran whimpered.

Mira seemed unfazed, but quickened her pace towards the other end.  
"No!" she cried.  
The others looked up, Pei reached in her pockets for the stones but she felt as if she had swallowed them; both doors slammed shut and they were in complete darkness. Zoran swore, before producing a flame in his hand to give them some light. They continued until they reached the door, but they had been sealed in. They tried opening it, pounding against it and using all the bending moves in their arsenal but the door would not move.

Suddenly, the lights boomed on. It may as well have sunlight, the way it burned their eyes. They all heard the cries from below, the inmates stirring awake and calling out in anger and confusion. With the light they could now see the layout of the prison; the ladders led down onto a transparent floor which also formed the ceiling of about fifty prison cells. Each cell could be accessed from a small ladder leading to a circular opening in the ceiling. The prisoners looked up at them and went into a frenzy, swinging side-to-side on their ladders, pounding hungrily on the ceiling – the only thing separating them.

"What…what is happening?" Zoran cried.  
"It's a trap." Mira muttered. She moved slightly, unnoticeably towards Pei.

A man's voice came through an invisible loudspeaker into the room, which briefly silenced the commotion: "Attention prisoners. Anyone who kills one of the four intruders will immediately be pardoned. You will find your cells are now opened. Thank you."

 **IV**

The ravenous inmates banged open the ports in their cells and raced out towards the ladders. The four of them turned to each other.  
Pei: "Oh my gosh…what do we do!?"  
Zoran: "There's four ladders, so we can man one each…or wo-man.

They each turned to a ladder, with the boys on one side and the girls on the other. Pei and Zoran were back-to-back, as were the other two to each other. Zoran halted Trin by clapping a hand on his shoulder.  
"Bro, I'm sorry. Let's just put that fight behind us."  
"Good, because I don't need you." Trin intoned, "I survived on top of that train, I can handle myself."  
For once, Zoran was speechless. He nodded, and went to his ladder.

They could all now see why these prisoners were too hysterical to transport to the new prison. Like rabid animals they climbed the ladders, some laughing, others with looks of hunger. Trin and Zoran had little trouble blasting them off their ladder with single thrusts of their palms, although inwardly Trin was terrified.

The girls, however, had little to work with. Pei carefully lined up her rocks to pummel into their heads, praying each time to knock them out. It required all her concentration to project them both accurately and powerfully. She glanced over to Mira who seemed to be struggling. Although her ladder was full on both sides with ascending inmates, she was powerless to stop them. All she could do was swing her frozen sword wildly towards them, warding them from climbing any further.  
"Call me if you need help!" Pei called out. It sounded much more nonchalant than what the situation called for.  
"Keep track of your own one!" Mira barked back.

Pei looked down to see a giant man climbing towards her with a desperate look in his eyes. With a cry, she pounded a well-aimed rock directly between his eyes. It bounced off him without slowing him down. If anything, it spurred him faster.

"Uh…I think I need help!" Pei cried. Already he was upon her, outstretching his paws.  
"Heads up!" Zoran called out and kicked a wheel of fire behind him. Pei ducked and it singed over her head, slamming into the giant's body. He took two steps backwards but did not even lean over the edge. He roared, and charged at Zoran, who turned around too late. The giant collided with him, and he was thrown over the edge. He landed safely by rolling, but found himself immediately surrounded by a crowd of savage prisoners, who herded him into a corner.  
"Zoran!" Trin cried out. He wanted to jump down to help him but the prisoners were climbing the ladders thick and fast now. He hopped between his and Zoran's, blasting them both away. His fear spurred him on, but was on the border of overwhelming him. There it was again – that desire to run, to shut down and leave all his responsibilities behind… These thoughts soon left him when, suddenly, an airbender with a shaved head launched himself onto the walkway, tackling Trin down.

Meanwhile, the giant was upon Pei again, and had her pinned to the ground.  
"Get. Off!" She cried. She felt the ground around her and her hand closed around one of her rocks. She slammed it as hard as she could into his jugular. He made gurgling sounds and clutched at his throat. It was enough to give her the chance to slide out from under him and drive off the other prisoners who had reached the top of her ladder.

Zoran had warded off the crowd until now by flurries of fire, but the growing crowd around him sensed he was tired. They closed in more and more, predicting his movements and dodging them easily. Suddenly, when jabbing his arm out a man rushed in and pinned it to the wall. Before Zoran could react, his other arm was pinned to the wall. Two more pinned his legs back. The rest of the crowd closed in on him, beating, clawing, and biting. Zoran screamed helplessly.

Trin heard the scream, but there was nothing he could do. He was locked in battle with seemingly the only airbender left in the prison, and he had clearly been dying for someone to practise his bending on. He held Trin in a whirlwind, throwing him up and down and left and right into the floor and railings. Trin barely had time to get his bearings before he felt himself be lifted again and thrown. Each time scored him another bruise or bleed. He already felt one of his teeth come loose and leave his mouth.

Mira glanced to her side. The fire boy was held against the wall, getting savagely beaten. The air boy was being tossed around like a ragdoll. Pei was somehow defending an onslaught with nothing but two rocks, but Mira doubted she could hold on for much longer. As for herself, while she had been able to stem her ladder with her swordsmanship it was beginning to melt. She had to get them out of here or they would all die. Her father's dream would be left unfulfilled.

Pei felt a meaty hand wrap around her throat. The giant had awakened, one hand clasping his bruised throat, the other hand strangling her. She felt for the rocks but the giant lifted her by her neck and she could not feel for them. Her feet wriggled, struggling to find any footing but she had been lifted too high. She tried to breathe but her windpipe had completely closed up. Her eyes watered, her face purpled.

The giant head left the body. Pei slammed down to the ground, gasping, the body landing next to her. She watched the giant head drop with a thud, and roll over the edge.  
Pei looked up to see Mira wielding her sword, dripping with water and blood.  
"Get the fire boy." She instructed Pei, "We're getting out of here."

Pei ran to the railing, to see Zoran pinned to the wall, his face black, blue and red.  
"Oh my goodness…Zoran!" She called out. When he looked up at her, she nodded to him and aimed one of her rocks carefully and fired it. It hit the temple of the prisoner pinning back his arm, who collapsed. But it was fruitless; before he could extend his arm to bend, another prisoner swiftly pinned it back. He shook his head at Pei hopelessly.

Mira had hoped to sneak up on the airbender battling Trin, but somehow he had sensed her behind him and blasted her into the door. She dropped the dripping sword, winded. Pei rushed to her side. The bender sensed he didn't have much time before the gangway was swarmed. He created a powerful whirlwind, raising Trin and himself far above the gangway and away from everyone else. He then formed a vacuum of air around Trin's head and began to asphyxiate him. Trin tried to bend at him, but because he was being turned rigorously in the whirlwind he could not fix on him. He felt the air being pulled out of his lungs.

Zoran watched on, helpless. He was desperate. His little brother was dying in front of him. It was too much to bare. He closed his eyes.  
He searched inside him for the ability to take control, to destroy: to be powerful. He searched for Korra, and the Avatars before her. He could only control one element, but surely he had some of that power that made them the strongest people in their lifetimes.

Zoran opened his eyes. They glowed red, like embers. Anger burned within him. He felt infinite. Suddenly, escaping and saving his brother seemed not only possible, but easy. Because he wasn't just Zoran anymore. He was the Sun.

He breathed fire like a dragon, casting flames all around him. The prisoners all fell back with a cry. He launched himself upwards, propelled by fire from his feet, towards his brother and his assailant. Everyone in the room's gaze was now fixed upon him. Within seconds, he was there. He wrapped his fingers around the bald airbender's neck. Surprised, the whirlwind dissipated.

Trin fell to the gangway, cushioning his fall with bending.  
" _What. Is that."_ He gasped to the girls, who continued staring above them, agape.  
"I thought you could tell us." Pei whispered.  
"Impressive." Mira uttered enviously. "But you should tell him to come down, because I know how to open this door."  
Trin nodded and called out to him shrilly "Zoran? Um, maybe you should think about coming down?"

Mira snapped off part of the hilt of her sword and melted it. Feeding into the keyhole of the door, she froze it, and turned it. The door unlocked.

In perfect timing, the airbender's body slammed into the centre of the gangway, indenting it. The firebender lowered himself gracefully, eyes shut. He opened them to his regular, hazel eyes.  
They breathed sighs of relief.

"What just happened?" Trin asked.

Shaking their heads in disbelief, they walked through the door and closed it behind them. The prisoners made no attempt to rush them.

 **V**

They were jogging through another hallway: exhausted, blacked and beaten. The end was in sight, Pei pointed out which was a surge of relief for them.

Zoran sensed the other three glancing at him in awe. In truth, he had no idea what had happened. He had no recollection of anything that occurred between when he was being pinned to the wall to when he landed in front of them. But from the way the others were looking at him, he knew he had done something spectacular.

"It's closing! We need to run." Pei called out, gesturing to the wall closing in front of them.

They passed with time to spare, only Zoran had to duck. But in front of them two more walls were sliding down.  
"Come on!" Zoran cried.

They were sprinting now, and ducked under the second wall. But the third wall was already half closed.

"We're not going to make it!" Pei called out. They were now metres from the exit.

Suddenly, Mira edged in front and threw down her sword where it liquefied into a puddle in front of them. With a clench of her fists, the puddle froze.

"Dive!" she ordered.

The four of them threw themselves down. As per Mira's plan, they slid face down under the wall which closed immediately behind their feet.

"Good thinking." Zoran gasped before getting to his feet with the others. They had finally made it to the end.

"What's wrong with your brother?" asked Pei.

Zoran looked over to see Trin with his face pale and head down. Zoran went to him, "What's wrong, buddy?"

"So it's true," spoke a voice from in front of them. It was Nea, her gloves outstretched.

"Mom." Zoran gasped.

"You're a firebender."

Mira whispered something to Pei.

"And you two must be earth and water, taking my sons away. Look at their faces, what have you done to them?"

"They chose to leave," said Mira. "Now!"

The rock flew from Pei's hand, flying towards Nea's face. A whip extended out of one of her gloves and slapped the rock aside. With her other glove, she fired out a rope which tied around Pei so that she couldn't move her arms.

With Pei incapacitated, Mira out of water to bend and Trin unresponsive, only Zoran could do anything.

"Blast her out of the way," Mira whispered. "She must have been behind that little game in the cells. How else would she know that we could bend?"

"No." Zoran said.

"It's true," Trin murmured.

"Stand down, son," said Nea. "I'll see to it that you have a fair trial."

Zoran didn't move. "There's no need. I'm a firebender!"

He thrust his arm forward and released a spurt of flame towards his mother. But he did not commit to the action and his mother easily side-stepped it and fired a rope around him, followed by Mira and Trin.

Nea shook her head. "I'm very disappointed in you both."

 **VI**

They were enclosed inside a glass transportation tank, carried by a bison and heading towards the prison. They all looked beaten. Mira and Pei were dreading seeing Xaga after already failing him. Trin had not said a word or moved a muscle in his face. Zoran was also quiet, reassessing his life. For as long as he could remember, his dream was to become a shadow serving under his mother. He had thought even though he wasn't an airbender they would make an exception for him, especially after taking out the Senator's assassins on the train. But now he was an outlaw, forced to spend the rest of his days in the inescapable prison.

Trin looked through the glass below. The prison, always in Cirrus's shadow, was so far below them that it looked as small as his hand. None of them had even attempted to break through this temporary cell. Although it was probably their last chance to escape, it was made of the same material as everything else in Cirrus and as such would be impervious to their bending. Trin suddenly had a thought.

"Zoran, burn through our ropes."

Mira looked intrigued, but Zoran shrugged "What's the point? They're going to tranquilise us like elephant-rhinos before we leave anyway."

"I think we could break this cage, just do it."

As Zoran burned through their ropes, Trin explained his idea: "This material is proofed against fire, water etc. I have a theory that it is how the Air Nation were able to drive the other nations out – the glass everything's built out of is resistant to their attacks. But maybe that's because each nation attacked in waves, not together."

"So?" Zoran shrugged.

"Well maybe if we all bent against one surface it would do something. Normal glass is brittle, expands when it heat and shrinks when it cools. Also it has a low thermal conductivity which means it breaks when…" Trin trailed off at the sight of blank faces in front of him. "It might break when you guys alternate hot and cold."

Immediately, Mira moved her hands over one wall. Although she didn't have water to work with, she could freeze the minimal amount of moisture along the wall and in the air surrounding it. Zoran then blasted the same area with fire.

They all heard a crack, but it was not visible so the two repeated the action, alternating ice and fire. What began as a dint soon evolved into a crack which grew until it spread over half the wall. By now, the bison was lowering them onto the ground where guards were marshalling around it, waiting for them.

"We need to hurry," Pei said. She removed the last rock from her outfit and pummelled it into the wall where it left a small hole. Trin then airbent into it where it widened up enough for them to fit through. The shards of glass broke through and fell below them onto the guards, soliciting confused cries.

"See you guys down there!" Zoran cried and jumped through the gape and fell the last few metres. He rolled aside and began duelling with the guards. Once the cage was lowered enough, the other three jumped out.

"Oh my goodness!" Pei said excitedly, "Earth!" She immediately pummelled her fists upwards where a wall of black dirt raised up in front of them.

"Lucky." Mira muttered, her back to the wall.

Pei and Trin hopped to either sides of the wall. Pei levitated a large mound of dirt and punched it at a guard. It pummelled into his chest and face, throwing him backwards.

Seeing this, Trin tried punching air towards his own opponent. He sidestepped it easily and began firing darts from both hands at him. They were blocked by a mound of earth which suddenly rose up in front of Trin. Seconds later, the guard was taken out by a large ball of dirt.

"Thanks Pei," Trin blushed.

Pei nodded and moved forward, ripping and levitating another grassy mound from the ground. It seemed like Trin was only getting in the way, so he stood back and watched enviously.

Not long later, after Pei and Zoran had taken out the guards, they were on the bison. Mira and Pei were taking them to their hideout. Buildings from the old city darted by below, covered with vines and populated by nature.

"We're close now, guys," Pei said brightly. "Our coach Hideki will be excited meet you guys." Trin's eyes widened.

"He's not our coach," said Mira. "And apparently you two don't need a coach…"

Zoran was not paying attention. He ripped off the wings from his wingsuit and let them fall from his hands. They sunk through the air, twisting aimlessly.

 ****

 **VII**

As they angled downwards, they looked out over a bay and snow-capped mountains in the distance. Within the bay they could see a verdant island and a large statue of a man with an arrow tattoo, holding a staff. Pei pushed down on the bison's neck and it circled around where they had been staying for the last several weeks. It was a large oval building made mostly from wood, located on a boardwalk along the bay. Once a stadium of some sort, it had been perfect for their training with an arena built over water, and clay projectiles everywhere. Pei wanted to give the brothers a tour but instead they seemed exhausted, so they followed Mira to where they would be staying – an attic with two adjacent rooms.

The bison would be conspicuous out in the open, so Pei led it around to a small warehouse where they had kept the bison that had taken them to Cirrus. She stroked its head, and it laid down.  
"Sorry, buddy you'll have to stay here. We'll rescue you some friends another time."  
 _Everyone needs a friend_ , she thought.

The bison had already fallen asleep, snoring loudly enough to shake the room.

"I brought you some tea" she said to Mira, once she was upstairs. She was holding two cups, and outstretched one to Mira.

"I didn't ask for one" Mira said flatly, before taking the tea.

Pei sat on her bedroll and leaned against the wall before turning to Mira. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Mira frowned.

"Okay… I just – I understand going through something like what you did. Well, not what you did exactly but something like that."

"And?"

"And I know it can change a person. I feel like I was once a cheerful person, but when I had to be independent and raise my brother by myself…I haven't been able to let loose since then, I'm always too serious. I just want to let go and have fun!"

Mira looked at her. "I've killed people now. I cut off someone's head, and I felt nothing. I haven't felt anything since what happened in the Underworks." She brought the tea to her lips.

Pei nodded, "You were in danger…"

As Mira snorted into her mug, steam rose. "Does that matter? I could've got us out without killing, but I chose to kill and I felt _nothing_. I still don't. I could've killed everyone in that room and still felt nothing."

"I'm sorry, Mira." Pei laid her hand flat towards Mira as a gesture of sympathy, but Mira turned away.  
"It's fine. I just want to be done with this stupid mission."

Over in the next room, Zoran had gone for a walk, leaving Trin who was trying to sleep. _Hideki is here_ , he thought, _he's their teacher. I need to warn the others about him_.

"Trinley?" a voice whispered from somewhere in the room.

Trin turned to see the old woman. In the dusty afternoon light, she seemed to glow vacuously. Somehow, he wasn't startled. This time, her shawl was down, revealing a tattoo on her forehead much like the statue he just saw.

"Jinora?"

"Trin, you must leave. The waterbender, and her father are corrupted. It is not safe for you here."

"How did you get in here?"

"I'm not really here," she said, "Please, you must leave. Take your brother with you, and the earthbender girl, if you can. Before they are corrupted too."

Trin rubbed his forehead, "I have so many questions. Where do we go?"

"Into the wilds of the old Cirrus. I will find you."

"Why do you have a tattoo?"

Zoran burst into the room, and Trin gasped thinking the door would knock her down, but she had disappeared. "Who were you talking to, bro?" 

**Chapter Six  
** **The Cabin in the Snow**

 **I**

Zoran was half asleep when the door opened. The spectral figure of Mira slid inside, and glided past a snoring Trin towards his bedroll. The figure waited for a sign of acknowledgement, but Zoran pretended to be asleep. Through eyelashes he saw the figure kneel at his side, a wave of perfume lapping over him. She kissed his cheek and breathed into his ear:

"I'll be outside…"

Those words pulled him out of bed and outside. His feet hovered above the boardwalk as he shielded his eyes from the glare of the sun on the sea. Mira was nowhere to be seen, so he walked around the building to the other side. Despite staying here for two weeks, Zoran had not visited this side where there was a grassy hill. He thought it strange that Mira, who avoided the sun and anything dirty would be here. This was most often where Pei would be, weeding or taking the air bison out to play. Indeed, as he reached the top of the hill, he saw Pei kneeling at the edge of a forest.

Letting out an impatient sigh, he headed down towards her.

"Hi Pei!" he greeted.

She didn't turn around, "Hi Zoran."

"Have you seen Mira anywhere?"

"Umm, no I haven't…" she replied distractedly.

Curious as to what she was doing, Zoran crept forwards and saw that she was arranging a bouquet of small purple flowers at the foot of a tree. They sat in a vase of arranged pebbles.

"What's that for?"

Pei lifted her head and looked at the bark on the tree. "My brother. He died I think a year ago today, somewhere around here. He was killed by Air Nation soldiers."

"I'm so sorry," Zoran put a hand on her shoulder, "I didn't even know you had a brother."

She turned towards him but still did not make eye contact. "Yeah. I had to raise him growing up in the Underworks. Xaga took us under his wing. I became Mira's bodyguard, and Wenn – an airbender – fought with Xaga in his army."

Zoran shook his head, "I'm so sorry, Pei. Trin's all I have in the world, I can't imagine losing him. Do you need a hug?"

Pei lifted her palms to show they were dirty. Zoran noticed additionally they were sweaty and shaking. She withdrew them quickly.

"Anyway. That's why I'll serve Xaga to the end. My brother was a bender, he should never have been stuck with me in the Underworks. We live in the Air Nation, and yet airbenders are punished."

Zoran nodded. He had heard this sort of rebellion rhetoric before, but had never truly believed it.

"He should've had a great, long life…" Pei whispered.

Just then, something whizzed between them: a purple dart thudded into the tree: purple indicated poison. Zoran instinctively leapt up and shot a fireball behind him at two agents wearing Air Nation outfits. Pei used the distraction to gather the pile of pebbles holding up the flowers and rolled to the side.

The agents jumped to either side of the fireball and moved forward, one for each of them. Once again, Zoran attempted to summon the state in which he had "become the Sun", but could not. Instead he used his favourite move: spinning his hands in the air to form wheels of fire that he slung and released towards the agent. The agent, however, nimbly dodged the wheels stepping side to side and moving towards him.

Pei was having similar problems. She launched the rocks at her advancing agent, but the bare-handed bender simply brushed them aside with wind.

"I think we need to work together," announced Pei as they both slowly backed into the forest.

"Yeah I think you're right!" Zoran shouted, "Go!"

Understanding, Pei rolled forwards into a crouch. At the same time, Zoran flung one of the fire wheels at her agent. The agent fanned away the fire, stepping backwards and stumbling over a mound Pei had raised behind him. Within seconds, Pei was on top of the agent and imprisoned them in earth.

"Done!" Pei called out.

"Half-done!" Zoran retorted. Now within the forest, he continually ducked behind the trees. The advancing agent was closing in, firing darts aimed at his head. Zoran heard one shuck in the bark inches from his ear, sending splinters flying past his face.

"Now!" Pei called out.

Zoran stepped out to see the gloved arm of the agent, struggling against several rocks that were holding it up. He jumped forward and spun, releasing a fireball towards the agent. The agent screamed as the fire hit him in the chest, throwing him backwards. He landed still, next to the other agent. Pei promptly imprisoned the second agent.

"What do we do with them?"

"Nothing," Pei smiled, "only an earthbender could get them out now."

 **II**

For the last two weeks, the four of them had been practising in the arena downstairs. The arena was massive – a platform raised high above water where there grates of water and stacks of clay that were perfect for the four of them to practise. According to the mentor of the girls which the boys were still yet to meet (although Trin was strongly suspicious it was Hideki), this was once known as a pro-bending arena where water, fire and earthbenders fought each other for entertainment.

Much to Mira's displeasure, Pei, Zoran and Trin were also using it for entertainment. Laughing, Pei and Zoran recounted to Trin the two agents and how they had dispatched them. Zoran held his arm high and pretended it was stuck there with a goofy expression, making them roar with laughter.

" _Shut up!_ " Mira screamed from the edge of the seating. She smiled at the ensuing silence, and turned to walk away.

"Why?" spoke a thin voice.

Mira whipped around to find who had disobeyed her. Just as she had expected, it was the small boy. She gripped the railing until her hands paled.

"Because you three are causing a disturbance." She answered. "We will be discovered."

"Our practise is louder than this." The thin voice spoke again, although it was amplified by the arena shape.

"Oh yeah, that's true!" Zoran exclaimed, before silencing himself.

"Practise is necessary. This is not."

"Why?" Trin asked again, his voice now stronger. "We've all been through a lot, why can't we just let loose for once."

Mira shot him a frostbitten glare. She looked at Zoran, who was looking all around the stadium, then at Pei who had her head down but was nodding.

Seething, Mira whipped around and marched up the stairs out of the arena.

"We need to split their little friendship up." Mira announced to Hideki in his small stowaway office. He seemed to always be inventing, fixing and breaking things apart. Machine parts littered his desk, and the room was stained and smelled like oil and grease. He looked up from what he was working on – some sort of glass fitting with wires in it.

"Is this simply jealousy?"

"No!" Mira screamed, before slamming the door.

"Father told us not to trust the air boy."

"Trinley Sozen."

"He said he thinks Jinora came to him. If that's true, then he's going to try to turn his brother and Pei against us. We need to break them up so that won't happen."

Hideki adjusted his silver-rimmed glasses, "That won't stop Trinley from leaving."

"One is better than three."

Hideki nodded, thinking. "You persuade me again. How did this morning go?"

"Good. He believed they were real skyguards."

"Good, I think there might be another good thing for us to come out of it. Not only has it made him think the Air agents are closing in on us, Zoran will also trust her now. If you have a talk with Pei…I'll send them on a mission together."

"How am I meant to get her alone?"

"I think I can distract the Sozens," Hideki gave a wrinkled smile and grabbed his gold-capped walking cane, "it's time I reintroduced myself."

 **III**

Zoran banged the side of the cooker in the attic.

"You're being so loud!" called out Pei. Her and Trin were in the middle of a Pai Sho game that Trin was inches from winning.

"I've tried everything!" Zoran exclaimed, kicking it.

"Have you tried the knob just under it?" Hideki asked from the doorway.

Trin stood up at once, tipping over the Pai Sho board and shot jets of air out towards him.

Hideki simply tipped his cane sideways which braced him against the doorway instead of being blasted back.

He then stepped forwards and twirled his cane rapidly, creating a shield of air which fanned away Zoran's attack.

Pei stepped between them and turned to the boys, "What is going _on!?_ "

"He burned down our grandfather's house!" Zoran pointed to him.

"And he's behind the Senator murders."

Pei frowned, "He wouldn't do that. This is our teacher."

" _He's_ your teacher!?"

Hideki stepped into the room and clasped a hand to Pei's shoulder, "Darling I think Mira was looking for you. I can handle myself fine."

Pei nodded and left the room.

Zoran picked up the frying pan and began waving at Hideki threateningly. "Stay where you are."

Hideki gave a smile that wrinkled his face, "My, how you two have grown. You may not know me, I was Nea's closest advisor. I don't know what's been told to you but your mother was corrupted."

Zoran glanced at Trin, "We've heard theories."

"Yes, there's always theories. But I can tell you for certain that your mother is behind the killings of the Senators."

"No," Trin shook his head, "You are. I found one of your darts sticking out of Senator Tibu's neck."

"One of my darts, yes," replied Hideki, "I invented those darts but that doesn't mean I'm the only one to use them. Your mother has access to all my inventions. Have you never seen another use these darts?"

"One of the agents today used them," Zoran muttered. "They were Air Nation."

"Exactly. As for your grandfather's place, I'm terribly sorry."

"You're _sorry_?" gushed Zoran, "you fucking almost burnt it to the ground! How can you be sorry!?"

Hideki shook his head and stomped his cane to the ground, "No, no, no you remember incorrectly! We lit it on fire, yes, a small fire to the front of the house to draw you inside. We needed to make sure you would come immediately, not go off and search for help. You were the one who spread the fire, and did the damage."

Zoran recalled hurling the fire back and forth, and drawing it down like lightning onto the agents.

"Why were you there at all!?"

"As you are aware, we needed to find the note the Avatar had left. We needed to know why Mira and Pei had received their bending, and what it meant for the rebellion."

"What does it mean?" Zoran probed.

"Well as you know, it is up to you four to anoint the new Avatar. Xaga and I think, to usher in the new era of Air Nation and overthrow the corrupt-"

"Xaga will never be Avatar," said Trin. Zoran nodded.

Hideki's face flushed, "You may think so now but soon you boys must decide who to trust. We saved you, we're looking after you, we _trust_ you. Your mother threw you in prison – do you think she trusts you?"

"We'll never trust you," said Trin.

"It doesn't matter now, Trinley. I have found something more troubling that we'll have to deal with before anything else."

"I'm not-"

"Good!" Hideki cut Trin off. "This is a mission for Pei and Zoran. They have already demonstrated considerable raw talent. You and Mira have much to learn."

Over in their room, Pei was pacing up and down in front of Mira.

"I can't do it," she said, "They're my friends."

Mira rolled her eyes, "You've known them for two weeks."

"They're all I have!" Pei snapped. Mira winced.

"Why are you doing this?" questioned Pei as she teared up, "For the first time in my life I can just relax and have fun!"

"I told you, Zoran trusts him too much. He will be too easily misguided by his stupid conspiracy theories. All I need you to do is convince Zoran that Trin is insane. It is mostly true anyway."

Pei stopped pacing and panted, "It just feels wrong. I already misled him this morning. This isn't who I am…"

Mira stood up and went to the doorway, "Fine, do what you want. But think of your brother, he clearly understood the meaning of sacrifice."

"Get out!" Pei screamed. Slamming the door in Mira's face, she curled up in her bedroll in tears. She sobbed into her pillow.

 **IV**

The bison took them above the clouds towards to the snowy peaks. It was so freezing that Zoran could only manage puffs of flame in his palm. Pei brushed away tears of asphyxiation from her to trace something on the fluttering map in her hand.

"Down here," she patted the bison.

Immediately the bison dipped, plunging them through the clouds as if they were falling through a herd of sheep-wolves. They landed on the side of the largest peak.

"Good girl," Pei patted the bison after they had dismounted onto the snow, "sorry, there's nowhere you can graze here buddy."

"It's so crunchy!" exclaimed Zoran, "I always thought it was powdery."

"Yeah, I think sometimes it is," Pei replied.

"I wish Mira was here. I think she'd be better than either of us in these conditions."

Pei didn't reply and started walking, "The communications cabin should be at the other side of this mountain. Hideki said this is the closest we could get without them spotting us."

"Oh, man! I wish my fire was good today, I want to get revenge for this morning!" Zoran called out and thrust his palms forward. Shards of fire sparked from them.

Pei scratched her face uneasily, "We don't need to go crazy, just enough to disable their communications."

"Yeah I suppose… no screw that, I'm going to burn it to the ground if I can!"

Pei adjusted her scarf; it felt oddly tighter.

 **V**

Hideki blew his whistle from the sidelines of the arena: "Fight!"

Trin thrust his arm forwards, and Mira slung forward a tongue of water. Both were feeble attacks that failed to reach the other. Hideki immediately lost interest and began reading a machine manual.

"I don't appreciate you trying to steal my friend from me." Mira muttered as she launched another vine of water towards Trin.

"My mistake, I thought she was your slave." Trin retorted as he side-stepped the water and blasted out air with the lotus of his hands.

Mira stumbled backwards for half of the arena before falling to the floor. Seething, she extended her palms and froze the water on the arena, causing Trin to slip and fall to his knees.

Mira laughed, "Aww you remind me of my brother begging for me."

Trin kicked his legs from under him, causing a wave of air that knocked Mira down again. Mira's hand began reaching behind her, the puddle of water beginning to assemble.

"Do they both know you're fucking the other?" Trin asked innocently.

Mira slung the ice knife from behind her aimed at his head. Trin ducked and the knife whooshed over him, slicing through one of the ropes around the arena.

Trin, incensed charged at Mira aimlessly. Mira had already moved above the grate and was forming another dagger, ready to stab him as soon as he got near…

The whistle blew again, "Enough!" Hideki exclaimed, "You two are going to kill each other."

"We're just playing," giggled Mira, "actually we were just going for a walk on the boardwalk, weren't we Trin?"

Trin nodded, understanding her glare: _Let's finish this alone._

"Just the two of you? Be careful."

"Just the two of us!" Mira pined sweetly.

 _But only one of us will be coming back_ …

 **VI**

They moved along a passage so narrow that they had slide with their backs to the mountain-face, Pei carrying her heavy rucksack in front of her. Directly above them was the cabin, in front Zoran felt his palms sweat even in the cold; the fall in front of them was survivable, but they would certainly be spotted and attacked and by then they would be too exhausted to retaliate. Glancing around the edge, Pei suddenly halted. Zoran, not concentrating, stopped himself from bumping into her and as a result teetered forward.

"Geez! You should warn me when you do that!"

"Sorry, I can see the cabin. We just need to wait to make sure there's nobody around."

Zoran shivered and drew a flame in his palm, "As long as we're not too long. Hey are you okay?"

Pei swallowed and continued peeking around the ledge, "Umm…I'm not sure."

"What's wrong?"

"Um," she half-turned towards him, "I think I'm worried about your brother."

Zoran laughed, "Ha ha, you don't have to worry about him. He's always been like that! In fact now he's better than ever."

"No – um, I mean…" Pei looked up at him, "I'm worried about the rest of us because of him, you know? We're dealing with some pretty dangerous stuff, here. What if he does something that gets us killed?"

The flame in Zoran's palm waxed, "What do you mean!? I trust Trin with my life."

"I know he means well, and he believes he's doing the right thing. But what if his version of the right thing is different from everyone else's?"

The flames in his hands exploded, spitting fire around his " _How can you_ …" he trailed off, distracted. Behind Pei, a part of the snow was moving.

A gloved agent dressed in white stepped out onto the ledge. He raised something to his mouth and a whistle pierced through the roar of the wind. Above them, they could hear multiple pairs of footsteps crunching towards them.

"Don't move, either of you!" he instructed, waving his gloved arm nervously in front of him.

Pei, yet to turn back around instinctively ducked. Zoran blasted fire over her head at the agent, who attempted to bat it away like bees. Pei then swung her rucksack around as hard as she could. It slammed into his body and tore open, rocks spilled to the ground. The agent grunted and bounced off the cliff-face before falling backwards. He rolled through the white until he disappeared.

"Go back!" Pei called out.

They sidled backwards as fast as they could, but it was too late. A small female agent already appeared, and although she couldn't see Pei assumed there would be more to come.

Zoran fired another blast but this agent easily ducked it and began waving her hands around, stepping forward easily over rocks and ice. The wind clenched around Pei and Zoran, they braced themselves to be thrown forwards. Instead, Pei moved the rocks underneath the agent's feet. She swore before falling to her side, also falling into the white abyss.

The victory was short lived, a line of about five agents began edging out onto the ledge. A volley of black darts came flying towards them, but Pei pulled a large rock in front of them from the cliff-face before flinging it towards them. The agents, however, were clearly coordinated in the snow and formed a shield of air that blocked the rock, sending it tumbling down.

"I can't do that again…" panted Pei, "The other rocks are too far under the ice!"

Zoran swore, "Alright well, then, duck!"

Pei ducked as Zoran raised his arms in front of him. He thought of that time on the train where he melted chairs and flesh by channelling his fury. This time he channelled his anger at Pei. How dare she betray her friend, his brother, by saying he was insane? How could she suggest that he couldn't trust him, _his own brother_!? He brought this anger forth from his chest, along his arms and to the tips of his palms and roared.

Superheated flames burst from his hands, melting through the ice. Steam rose in front of him, obscuring the enemies. He dropped his arms after only several seconds, exhausted. To his horror, when the steam lifted they were still there, intact. But fanning away the explosive heat had done its own damage.

Water began trickling from under their feet and down the walls. Their boots began to sink into the slush. In fact, the entire cliff-face was melting. A pile of snow sloughed in front of them. The agents were suddenly aware of this and had stopped advancing, beginning to back away. One of them lost his footing and slipped down the slope. Suddenly, above the sound of their cries and the wind a great creaking sounded above them.

"The cabin…" Pei muttered, "GO!"

Zoran didn't need to be told. He sidled backwards as fast as he could until he was almost running, Pei close on his tail. The groaning of wood became unbearably loud, they knew it must have been on the edge. Then suddenly, everything went dark. The cabin was directly above them, eclipsing all light. Both of them swore. It descended, at first slowly and then rapidly until they knew there was no way they could outrun it and it was going to crush them to death.

"Hold on!" Pei cried out, and suddenly they were launched through the air away from the cliff-face; she had brought up a piece of bedrock from beneath them. They sailed through the air, too afraid to scream until finally, after a very long time, they slammed into soft, powdery snow.

Zoran lifted his head. He dreamed that he could see the hut fall down into the mountainside which was now caving in, crushing everything in his wake. It landed in the growing cloud of steam and rubble. Zoran exhaled, shaking his head. He looked to Pei who was face down and unmoving. Putting her arm around his shoulder he lifted her and began the slow trek back to the bison. Dimly, he was aware of the cloud growing outwards towards him, but he did not mind it, he had seen the hut crash into pieces. Suddenly, the dream turned into a nightmare. The cloud of steam turned black.

"Oh fuck." Zoran muttered. An entire wall of the cabin emerged out of the cloud and hurtled towards them.

"Oh fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!" clutching Pei to him with one arm, he launched forward and burst fire from his other hand, and his two feet. They thrusted forwards at an explosive speed, narrowly avoiding the wall but now they couldn't stop; they spun through the air, skidding off the snow again and again until Zoran let Pei go before there was once again only white.

 **VII**

"Did you expect to die today?" Mira asked, throwing her silk scarf to the side.

A fight to the death seemed discordant with such a peaceful setting. They were outside the arena, water gently lapping up against the boardwalk they stood on. Across the sea, something stood out against a backdrop of the pink sky: the futile remains of a statue of a peacekeeper.

"At least not before you." Trin replied.

Mira had chosen the location well. Raising her arm, a tongue of water rose from the sea and hurtled towards Trin. He was expecting it, however, and side-stepped it before dropping and kicking underneath him. The resulting gust of wind knocked her to her knees. The rope of water dropped into a puddle.

Trin smirked, "I know you're bluffing, bitch. To make Xaga the Avatar he needs all four of us. I don't think daddy will be too pleased if you tried to kill me…"

Mira started cackling as the puddle of water moved towards her. "I thought you were smart. My father already has airbending, he just needs the other three!"  
She launched an ice knife at him. Her aim was perfect, it pinned the foot of his wingsuit to the wood. Another came flying at him, but he dropped flat and it whooshed over him.

She raised her arms, a wall of water rising through the cracks in front of her. For a second, Trin could see the face of Mira through the shifting windows of the water. In that instant in which she thought she was being unwatched, Trin witnessed what truly drove her: fear.

The wave began hurtling towards him as he pulled out the knife. He kicked into a sprint but he soon realised he was trapped – the wave was closing in on him and if he dove to his right into the sea, he would be hers. With a leap he thrusted into the air and his wings unfolded. He soar over the wave and torpedoed towards Mira, spreading his palms. The wave dropped and he saw the momentary glimpse of fear again in her eyes before she was lifted from the boardwalk and into the sea.

Trin fell to his knees in the puddle of water, panting heavily. Before he had time to recover, Mira levitated before him, floating on a funnel of water. There was no evidence of fear in her face now, instead her eyes singed with hatred. Hair fell around her face in wet tassels.

"Oh shit," Trin muttered.

A spike of ice flew between his hands, piercing the wood. Trin ran as fast as he could, but it was futile. Mira drifted alongside him floating on the funnel of water, firing an endless supply of icy knives at Trin. The spikes pierced the wood around him, narrowly missing him. At last, Trin thought he heard his skin ripping but one of them had torn the wing of his suit.

"Can't fly away now!" Mira laughed, enjoying herself.

Trin was running out of air, but he was near the grassy area now. Once he could reach there he could turn and run in a different direction. To his horror, he was mistaken. He reached the grassy area but it was only a patch in the corner of the arena. Behind him was one of the walls of the stadium. To one side of him was water, to the other side was the boardwalk that he was too exhausted to run through again. In front of him was Mira, perched on the railing and breathing heavy. She raised her arms and a gargantuan wave behind her formed, blocking the remaining sunlight. Trin backed to the stadium wall and swallowed. He noticed hundreds of icicle-shapes forming within the wave. With a cry, Mira through her body and hair forward and all the sharp icicles soared around her, hurtling towards Trin. Trin closed his eyes.

Suddenly, a great wall of earth rose between them, collecting all the icicles in their path. The air bison carrying Pei and Zoran landed on the wall.

"What is going on here!?" Pei screamed.

"He attacked me!" whimpered Mira.

"No. I've had enough of your lies," Pei turned to Zoran, "I don't really believe Trin's insane, Mira just told me to tell you that."

"Maybe you should believe it," Trin muttered.

"Ugh, enough." Said Mira desperately, "He's delusional! Maybe you don't believe it but it's true. And what's more he's planning to drag you two down with him!"

Zoran frowned and turned to Trin, "Is any of that true?"

"I want to leave here, yes. Their plans are kind of evil. I was hoping to take you guys with me."

Mira smiled, "Evil? And who may I ask told you this? What are you basing all this on?"

"Well…this woman came to see me…"

"I didn't see any woman walking around?" asked Zoran.

"Well she didn't so much as walk as…appear I think…"

"She's a ghost." Pei gritted.

"I'd say spirit, but she-"

The wall of earth suddenly slammed down with a jolt, and Pei marched away, muttering that she had to sleep. Victorious, Mira also left, grinning to Trin.

Zoran put his hand on Trin's shoulder. "Bro I think you're just exhausted from all this. How about we just go to bed and have a real sleep."

Trin nodded, "I think you're right. I'm sorry."

Zoran smiled and began walking, "Come on."

Trin halted, "I think I might just go for a walk first. I really need to clear my head."

"Alright," Zoran nodded, "see you soon."

 **VIII**

Trin waited for five minutes before he ran. He ran towards the forest, towards where Jinora told him to take his friends. For the first time in his life, he was doing something independently and utterly out of his comfort zone. What if he was crazy? What if he was simply abandoning his brother, his last connection to the world, to reality?

All his exhaustion had left him now, and instead he glided over the grassy hill, a pile of rocks and into the forest.

 _I'm coming Jinora._

 **Chapter Seven  
** **Doubts**

 **I**

Zoran opened his eyes.

He felt like he hadn't slept at all, turning over and over in his bedroll all night. Nightmares and waking had alternated all night, all of it centred around one thing. Reluctantly, he looked over to Trin's bedroll to see that his worst fear was realised: Trin had vanished.

For the second morning in a row he wandered outside the arena. Today, however, he wasn't in a euphoric daze; he felt coldly sober. Coming to the grassy hill areas where he and Pei had fought the two agents, he noticed small footprints in the grass. He broke into a run, following them over the hill, past the pile of rocks that once imprisoned the two agents to the edge of the forest. Here the trail was dead, the wind in the forest shifted the leafy floor around until no tracks remained. He bent down clutching his thighs, panting heavily. In doing so, he noticed one of the poison darts from the agents the day before. He frowned.

"There you are," spoke an angelic voice from behind him.

He turned around to see Mira, an aura of sunlight surrounding her.

"Where's your little brother?" she smiled.

"He's gone…" sobbed Zoran.

Mira gasped, cupping her mouth with her hands, "Why did he leave?"

Zoran shook his head, "Don't pretend to care. You hate him."

"I care about you." She replied, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He shrugged it off, "Maybe it was a mistake not believing him. He's the only person I trust."

Mira sighed. "You saw yourself, Zoran. He was delusional. He told us a ghost came to him!"

"Look at you," she continued, "You've got eyes like a racoon-monkey. When's the last time you slept, or ate?"

He nodded.

"Come on, we're having pancakes."

Zoran followed one step after the next, past the pile of rocks that had imprisoned the two air agents the previous morning. Something Pei had said after doing that suddenly came to him: _only an earthbender can get them out now_.

 **II**

Trin watched Zoran and Mira walk up the hill, out of sight.

"You're already missing them?" asked the phantom Jinora from behind him.

"I don't know why," Trin answered, "it's not like I ever talked to them."

"There is so much noise in the world, Trinley. You are one of the few who will listen to it. As such, you will be a great airbender."

Trin turned around, angry, "Really? Like this?"

He jabbed forward a few times, sending small pockets of air that fell a few pine cones.

From under her hood, the spectral Jinora shook her head. "Trin, your problem is you're trying to copy all the airbenders you've seen. But all of them are _terrible_ airbenders."

Trin frowned: _How was his mother terrible?_

"Up there, all they care about is attacking and punishment. That's the opposite of what airbending is about. And don't get me started about those gloves." She shuddered.

"But what about the Shadows? They can take anyone down."

"They're as good as an airbender who fights aggressively can be. But once again, this is the opposite to true airbending. As long as they ignore their negative jing, they will never know the potential of airbending."

"Jing?"

"Let me demonstrate with you and your friends. Your brother is quick to aggression, or positive jing, and so is a natural at firebending. The Earth girl knows how to defend somehow-"

"She grew up defending her brother in the Underworks."

"Right. Defence is neutral jing, hence she is a strong earthbender. Waterbending is a balance of positive and negative jing, however the water girl knows only hate and aggression and so cannot master waterbending."

"So airbending's negative? What the heck is that?"

"Negative is avoiding fighting, making peace. You can imagine why you and all of the Air Nation fail at it."

Trin's face went red.

"It's not your fault," Jinora replied, "You haven't had good teaching."

She then pulled back her hood. Her wispy white hair swayed around her face, around the blue arrow tattoo on her forehead.

"Now I am merely a projection so this won't be strong…" she started.

She began moving her hands circularly, as when Trin first met her. The autumn leaves along the forest floor began moving, around them in a circle, faster and faster until they had formed a cylindrical wall around them.

"I'm not forcing them to move," she shouted over the roar of the shifting leaves, "I'm using the wind that's already there!"

Trin nodded, distracted. After several moments he yelled: "Jinora, where is your body?"

The leaves suddenly collapsed, leaving a damp mulchy scent in the air.

"Enough talk. For now, we need to begin your fighting training, but to do that we should move deeper into the forest where we won't be found."

Trin swallowed. To him, deeper into the forest meant he would be fully leaving his life behind. He would be severing ties with his brother – his last connection to the real world to go on some spiritual quest with an old woman he still wasn't sure existed.

"You have misgivings?" Jinora rasped.

Trin shrugged, "I think we should give Zoran another chance."

Jinora nodded. "I'll ask him to meet us at dusk. If he doesn't come then, we leave."

Trin nodded, in thought: _But what if only I can see you?_

 **III**

The three were eating pancakes in silence. Zoran and Pei both had their heads down, Mira looked from one to the other.

"So Hideki said we could have a free day today. What should we do?" she asked perkily.

Pei continued looking down, while Zoran looked up briefly, sombrely: "Anything I guess."

Smiling, Mira furtively extended her socked foot. It found the inside of Zoran's leg, and traced up the side of it, on the way to his thigh and further.

He stood up suddenly, knocking his chair backwards. "I'll be in my room," he announced, before walking off.

Mira shook her head, "Idiot." She stood up and began collecting their half-finished plates.

"What if they're right?" Pei asked, looking down. "What if I deceived him yesterday for nothing?"

"Oh come on. The little one's delusional, and he just misses him."

Pei looked out the window, over the sea "They're good people, how can they be wrong? I trust them with my life."

Mira slammed the plates down into the sink. "No!" she cried. Tentatively, she began walking towards Pei.

"Pei, don't tell me your thinking about deserting us. We need you." She clutched her chest, "I need you."

Pei could not take her eyes off her: the shiny long black hair, the way her silks draped off her shoulders.

Mira knelt next to Pei. It was the closest they'd been. They could hear each other's breathing, smell each other, and notice the finer details of each other's faces. Mira had crossed a border, and there was no going back.

"Your place is here. Protecting me." she whispered.

Pei turned to face her. Then they each leant in, and kissed.

 **IV**

Zoran sat in his bedroll, leaning against the wall. The room seemed so fragile now, a tender wood that at any second could be blown down. Or burned down.

He gazed unfocusedly at the only possession Trin had left behind: a jumper, thrown haphazardly along the wall.

Cutting through his daydream, a vision suddenly appeared before him of an old woman with a hood covering her face. He gasped as it flickered into reality, and turned towards him.

"Zoran…"

He clutched his hands to his mouth, "Oh my…are you? What is-?"

"I'm with your brother, at the edge of the forest. We will wait for you until dusk, and then we'll leave deeper into the forest. You won't be able to find us."

Zoran nodded and unfocused his gaze again. He barely noticed the spectre flicker and disappear again. Trin was right, which meant Pei and Mira were probably lying. He had to be sure though, and he had until dusk to prove it.

Creeping along the hallway, he locked himself in the communications room. He switched on the dials and put on the headset shaking – not for the fear of being discovered in this room, but for what was waiting at the other end of the line.

A woman's voice soon answered: "Hello, Senator for Justice's Office."

"Can I speak to Nea?"

"I'm sorry, the Senator is really busy with all-"

"This is her son, Zoran." He interjected.

Immediately there was silence. A minute later, he heard his mother's voice: "Zoran, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I have something to ask you."

"Where's Trinley? Is he with you?"

Zoran hesitated "…yes, he's fine too."

"Oh my goodness," for the first time, Zoran heard his mother's voice break. He teared up himself, "where are you boys?"

He ignored the question, "Do Air Nation agents ever use poison darts?"

"What?"

"Do they?"

"No, never. Zoran, were you boys behind the murder of the Senator and his wife?"

"No, mother. We had nothing to do with that train, we were trying to stop-"

"Not that, I mean the destruction of the communications cabin in the mountain. He and his wife were visiting that day. The side of the mountain collapsed from an explosion, did you boys have anything to do with that?"

Zoran, for once, fell silent. "I've got to go, mum." He hung up, outraged and stormed out of the door. All he could see was red. He was angry at Mira, Pei and Hideki for deceiving him, but more than anything he was furious with himself. Why had he not believed Trin? Why had he trusted these people instead, these people who had burned down his grandfather's house? It was time to repay the favour.

Hearing the girls" laughter at the end of the hallway, perhaps laughter at his expense, he grew even more furious. All he wanted to do was destroy, to tear down these walls and bring this entire building to ashes.

He thrusted his arms forward and fire spewed out of them, lapping along the walls. The flames hurt to look at but he did not turn away. The laughter at the end of the hallway soon grew into screams. Turning away, he walked downstairs, leaving fire along the walls in his wake. He looked up after reaching the bottom of stairs. His ears were overcome with the screams and the roar of the fire as it cracked the wood. The anger had passed and suddenly he realised the horrors of what he had done. Still he turned and made it outside. Once again he was astonished by the destruction he was capable of causing. Half the building was already collapsing in on itself.

 _I'm coming Trin_ , he thought, already half way up the hill. The sky was filled with beautiful orange streaks. Despite his remorse, he refused to turn around and look at the damage he'd done. As such, he was taken unawares when he was tackled from behind. He rolled onto his back and took a swing, but Hideki dodged the ensuing flame. Hideki was quick for an old man, Zoran sensed he had already moved behind him. Instead of attempting to get up, which would make him vulnerable to attack, he reached behind him and pulled the cane from underneath him. Hideki stumbled forwards and Zoran grabbed his leg, tripping him over. He stood up, holding a ball of flame in his palm threateningly. It felt dissonant in such a beautiful setting.

"You guys betrayed me. You lied to me. A Senator and his wife are _dead_ because of me!"

"Zoran, listen to me. Our Cirrus has been corrupted by dictators. The air bison are enslaved. The old air nation would've been disgraced by what we are today."

Zoran shook his head, "Does it look like I care about the Air Nation at all? They would just throw me away."

Hideki smiled, "Yes! The current Air Nation, your mother, would do that. We want to rebuild a true Air Nation, one that keeps peace and, yes, fosters the rebirth of the three other nations."

"Get. Away from him." Trin turned to see the two girls. He was at once transfixed on Mira, but not for the reason he had been before. She had been badly burned on one side of her scalp, leaving a bright red mark. Sporadic clumps of hair were missing.

"Mira…" Zoran started.

"What the heck have you done to me!? I'm a fucking monster."

"I'm sorry!" he cried in desperation.

"We trusted you! You're going to pay!"

Pei then raised a clump of earth and flung it at his chest. Zoran side-stepped it and thrusted fire towards them. Mira cried out in terror.

"I'm sorry!" Zoran cried out again without thinking.

Mira used the distraction to hurl water at him, but it fell short at his feet. It froze, however, and he stumbled and fell backwards. His body was then immediately sealed by rock, he couldn't move anything. Mira closed in on him, furious, her remaining hair drooping maniacally over her face. She raised her hand, eclipsing Zoran's vision.

"Stop, Mira." Spoke Hideki from behind him, "Remember, we need him alive."

 **V**

Trin sighed. It was past dusk: the palette of the sky had gone from oranges to pinks and now purples. His brother, he guessed, had not even thought about taking Jinora's offer, if indeed she had given it to him. Earlier over the hill he could see the occasional burst of fire or clump of earth, even Hideki hovering around. In other words, he was content without him; sparring merrily with his new family.

Jinora stood beside him, and Trin felt relieved at her words.

"It's time to go."

 **Chapter Eight  
** **Above and Below the Canopy**

 **I**

"Let me know if this hurts," Pei warned Mira, "It's been two days now, it should be a bit better."

She dipped her fingers in the cream, and began moving them tenderly over Mira's naked, red scalp.

Mira winced, "You could stand to be gentler."

They had reason to relax in this little bathroom that had been blackened by the fire. The brothers, finding out their plans, were a threat to them, but now they couldn't touch them. Trin was far away in the forest, Zoran was safely chained up in the arena downstairs, sedated by one of Hideki's medications.

Pei continued smoothly rubbing in the cream. Mira closed her eyes – for once, in peace. This made Pei smile, but in the distraction her fingernail caught and pulled one of the sporadic tufts of hair.

"You clumsy oaf!" Mira screamed, pushing Pei into the wall. "Get away! I'll do it myself."

"Sorry," Pei muttered, and headed for the door. She turned the mirror before she left.

"Leave."

"I know. I'm just thinking. Why don't you just shave half of your head?"

"What?"

"It will only grow back unevenly if you leave it."

"And it won't be uneven if I shave half of it off?"

"It will be, but at least it will look like you intended it." Pei smiled, leaving the room.

Thirty minutes later, Hideki was waiting with Pei and a heavily sedated Zoran on the stage in the arena. Zoran was chained to the barricades of the stage.

Hideki checked his timepiece incessantly.

"I hope I didn't offend her…" Pei wondered aloud.

"Everything is an offence to that girl." Hideki replied.

"Everything's a fence?" Zoran slurred.

At last Mira arrived, walking down the stairs of the arena. She had taken Pei's advice and shaved half her head, leaving a red mark. She looked completely different from what she did a day previously. For once, she didn't look like a doll. Her remaining hair draped her face which was bent downwards. Somehow she looked both more vulnerable and powerful. Whether it was this or the fact that more of her head was visible now, she seemed more beautiful than ever. Neither Pei nor Hideki mentioned it.

"You're late," Hideki muttered as she sat at the front row of the stadium, crossing her leg over.

"You better get to the point, then."

Hideki rolled his eyes, "Your father contacted me this morning. He wants you three to meet him today, in the prison."

"Why now?"

"We're already behind schedule, and I'm sure he will be much better at persuading the other inmates once he is made the Avatar."

"How are we getting the meathead to the prison?"

"I crafted a cage this morning that is suitable for him. If you tether it to the bison, you will reach the prison quickly. Confess who you are to them and you will be imprisoned immediately."

"We'll be going directly over the forest. I'm not sure it's a good idea to fly directly above our rivals who happen to possess the ability to fly."

"Fly through the clouds." Hideki muttered.

Pei nodded, "Sounds like a good plan."

"Oh I hate flying!" Zoran stirred.

 **II**

Trin looked like a lazy racoon monkey. He was draped on his back on a branch overhanging a river. Despite being asleep, a half-eaten banana was clenched in his hand.

"Wake up, Trin." Jinora droned belligerently. She had appeared at the end of the branch.

Trin's scream echoed through the forest. He'd managed to cling to the branch, but had dropped his banana in the process.

"Nooooo..."

"Trin, you've been asleep eleven hours. It's time to start practising again."

Trin shook his head, "I only got half through my breakfast. I'm hungry, can you teach me how to hunt? And I haven't had my tea yet."

Jinora rolled her eyes, "No hunting. If you want to be an airbender, you've got to live like one – without eating animals. And no more sleeping in, my father used to wake us up every dawn for training."

"The truth is," Trin sighed, climbing back onto the branch, "I don't feel like training. I still suck."

"You've only had one full day of practise. Your fighting technique has already improved so much. Once again, your greatest challenge is using negative jing, attack through evasion. Understand that and you'll be better than every airbender you've met."  
A fly buzzed towards Jinora, attracted to her glow. She glided to the side of it, and through hand gestures the wind carried it around her and towards Trin. He thrust his palm towards it and a burst of wind shot out of it. The fly easily hovered above it and flew into his eye.

"Urgh! If airbenders are so peaceful, how do they fight at all?"

"Fighting is only half of airbending. The other half is…" Jinora was thinking.

"What?"

"Seeing as you're so good at relaxing, why don't you try some spiritual stuff?"

Trin did not move.

"Get into a meditation position…sit on the ground, cross-legged."

"Okay," Trin completed her instruction, "I'm ready to spiritbend."

"It's not spiritbending, that's something else."

"Can you teach me?"

Jinora shook her head, "Only the Avatar can do it. It's what allows her – or him - to enter the Avatar state."

Trin frowned, thinking about when Zoran entered the transcendent state back in the Cirrus prison. Were they capable of entering a form of Avatar state? And if so, did that mean the four of them could spiritbend?

"You're concentrating too hard," Jinora instructed, "Close your eyes. Breathe deeply. Clear your mind."

Trin did so, sighing. One by one he pushed things out of his mind. At first, he shut out abstract and distant thoughts like his mother and brother. Then, piece by piece his senses closed out the world around him: the rush of the river, the sound of the wind brushing the leaves, the feel of the earth beneath him. In shutting out each thing, he felt lighter and more disconnected from the tangible. Finally, he shut out the air: the wind stopped, and he no longer breathed.

The lightness had now grown so that he felt giddiness bubbling up inside him. Scared, he opened his eyes. He was floating, rising above the ground and his own body. It was so strange, seeing himself. He smiled at his peaceful, dirty face and his hair flopped over his face.

"Ohhh…what is happening!?"

He felt relieved, free, then suddenly terrified. He couldn't stop levitating. What if he couldn't stop himself? What if he continued floating through the atmosphere and into the void?

"Jinora!" He called out. "Help!"

He swivelled around but Jinora was nowhere to be seen. Maybe she was just part of his imagination, a part that had lured him into eternal blackness.

Suddenly, Jinora appeared in front of him. Without trying, he suddenly halted, relieved.

"Jinora, look-"

"Good," she replied, seemingly panicked. "I think you're going to need it right now."

 **III**

Pei watched Mira as she edged along the bison. She was standing up, walking forwards with her hands outstretched. Her hair and dress flailed in the wind behind her. They were amongst clouds, preparing to make their descent. Zoran occasionally "Woo-hooed" in his cage below the bison.

"What are you _doing_?" Pei shivered under coat just watching Mira doing this in a dress.

"Just watch!" Mira grinned.

Pei recalled when she'd first met Mira. She'd escorted her from her penthouse in Cirrus to the bison stables in order for a prison visit. It was the first time Mira had ever left Cirrus; she was terrified of flying. Pei offered her hand but Mira refused, saying she'd be fine. When Pei next looked over, her hands were wrapped around the stirrups so tight they were completely white. After landing, Mira dismounted elegantly but Pei noticed the dried blood and claw marks on her palms.

Pei couldn't believe Mira had gone from that bratty girl to this: doing something brave with a fearless, almost childish mien. Maybe, Pei thought, her near brush with death from the fire had given her a new identity. Or perhaps this was her last chance to do something free of her father's eyes.

Mira began waving her hands in circular motions above her. Pei could barely see what she was doing through the clouds. Gradually, something solid began forming in Mira's hands. It grew in length, refining in shape until finally she held a sword made from ice aloft.

Pei laughed, clapping. "Well done."

Something suddenly flashed in front of them before disappearing. They exchanged glances.

"Was that-?"

"Jinora!" Zoran called from below them.

Mira raised her sword, "If she appears again, let's see if this will work."

An apparition came into view, but this time it looked different.

"Trin!" Zoran called out.

"I'm ready," said Mira. She swung the sword right through his chest, but there was no damage.

"Wow. That's new," said Pei.

Mira turned and glared at her. Her amusing mood had disappeared.

"Look, there he is again!"

This time, Mira held her sword at her side. "I'm not going to be humiliated again."

Pei felt uneasy. _Why would they appear three times?_

As they grew closer to Trin, Pei frowned at certain details: how this apparition was seemingly affected by the wind, how his wingsuit was stretched out, and the lack of a glow…

"Mira!" she called out too late. Trin turned at the last second and tackled Mira off the bison.

They fell through the air. Jinora's plan worked; now Pei would be distracted enough trying to catch Mira, allowing him to release Zoran from his cage. He tried to pull away but Mira had dug in with her talons. She was not going to let go.

"Get off!" he cried, as they glided over the forest canopy.

Mira smiled maniacally, terrifying with her new haircut "We're in this together, friend."

Strangely, she began blowing to his side.

"What the heck are you doing?" but feeling the lack of mobility and extra weight, he understood. She had frozen one of his wings, and now they were spiralling downwards towards the forest canopy. Then, she released him. They separated in the air.

"Now we're both going to die you idiot!" he cried out.

"Only one of us," she grinned. Suddenly the bison butted him out of the way, collecting Mira. Trin saw Zoran for a split second carried in a cage under the bison, his arm outstretched.

Zoran watched his brother spiral downwards, disappearing into the canopy below. He didn't understand what was happening, but he knew the instinct to save his brother. Extending his arms out of the side of his cage, he summoned all his available energy and threw up a wall of fire. The bison groaned as its belly caught on fire.

"Sorry, man." Zoran said, sitting down.

The enflamed bison ducked straight for the canopy where it could spy swamps. Zoran's cage crashed through the trees first. He curled into a ball, bracing against whipping branches and leaves. They crashed to the ground heavily, Mira and Pei rolling off at the last second into the swamp.

"I'm going to kill that fucking firebender," said Mira, peeling a lily pad off her face.

"We need to keep him alive. And we need to find him first, what happened to him?"

They quickly discovered Trin had submerged in the swamp. Although Mira probably could've waterbent him out, they pulled the tether of the cage out onto land. Zoran gasped desperately.

"You. Idiot." Breathed Mira. "As soon as we make my father the Avatar, I'm going to kill you myself."

The crash had woken Trin up. The last thing he remembered was landing on a pocket of air generated by Jinora.

Her voice came to him in a haze: "Trin, you have to wake up. You need to save Zoran."

He slowly opened his eyes and examined himself. The fall had badly damaged him; his wingsuit was beyond repair, and he had cuts all over him. It hurt just to lift his head.

"I don't think I can…"

"Do it for your brother. He would've taken down the bison to save you."

It was true. Once again he had put himself in danger to save him, and now he had to repay him by releasing him.

"Quickly, Trin. They're already saddling up the bison."

Trin launched to his feet and began hobbling swiftly towards the sound of the crash. Soon, however, he noticed Jinora was not following him.

"Jinora? What are you doing?"

"I can't, Trin. I'm weak in this state."

"What are you talking about? What about those leaves?"

"Exactly, they were just leaves. Trinley, the time must come for everyone to find their own way. I can't have you relying on me, because I won't be able to help you. You have to do this yourself. I know you're ready."

Trin nodded, "I have to save Zoran. Thank you, Jinora. I hope we meet again."

Jinora smiled, "We will."

Trin began marching through the forest.

"Wrong way." Jinora uttered.

"I knew that."

 **IV**

"I think we're good to go again," Pei tightened the cage tether on the bison.

"If you try something again," Mira instructed Zoran, "not only will you die, but I will kill your mother and your brother."

"Please don't," said Trin, entering the clearing. His face was scratched and muddy; he was standing up straight but really he was in pain all over.

"Trinny!" Zoran called out.

"Let him go."

"Come and get him, fatty." Mira taunted. She removed a key from her pocket and dangled it in front of her face.

Trin sprinted towards her, the adrenaline dulling his pain. He was a metre from her and she wasn't moving. Suddenly, the ground beneath him jolted upwards as if he had stepped on an animal. He was thrown through the air above Mira, before landing in the swamp.

Mira cackled, "Good one, Pei."

Pei looked down. "It's nothing personal, Trin. I'll make sure we'll keep Zoran safe when we take him to the prison."

"You're not taking him anywhere," he climbed out of the swamp, already exhausted, and wiped green muck from his face. He blasted forward air directed at Mira, but she side-stepped it with ease. She seemed less clumsy than Trin remembered.

Trin continued punching blasts of wind forwards, thinking of what Zoran would do. Mira dodged and ducked them gracefully. Pei lifted a mound of earth in front of her which braced against the air before flinging it at Trin. It collided with his stomach, throwing him backwards into a tree trunk.

The blow knocked air out of him as he landed on his knees. He tried to draw in air but choked on blood, spluttering it out onto the ground. The pain of all his cuts suddenly returned sharply.

"Trin, there's two of us," Pei said sympathetically, "just save it, and nobody will get hurt."

It was true. He had to change something or else they would kill him. _Negative jing_. That's what Jinora would tell him right now. Offence through evasion. But how was that possible if they were only waiting for his attack?

"So are you two lovers?" he asked as he stood up, wiping blood off his lips.

Mira and Pei exchanged glances. "No." Mira answered. Pei looked at her feet.

"They can't be!" Zoran piped up, "Mira was hitting on me yesterday."

"Shut up. That's a lie."

"Really?" Trin probed, "Because from what I saw, you were leading them both on. I guess that's how you turned them against me."

" _Shut up_. Pei, he's delusional."

"Since when do you care what Pei thinks?"

"I know what you're trying to do." Pei spoke up. "It won't work. I'm sticking with Mira."

Mira grinned, "There you go. Now are you going to let us go on our way or do we have to kill you first?"

Zoran couldn't believe how confident and resolute Trin sounded when he answered.

"I think you're going to have to kill me, bitches."

At once, Mira raised a pillar of water from the swamp. She began firing discs of ice from it towards Trin.

He was expecting it, however. He sprinted around the volley of discs and sprung off a tree with his foot, kicking a gust aimed at Mira. It caught her off guard, knocking her onto her back.

"Woah." Zoran exclaimed.

"It's because that's all she can do." Trin couldn't help grinning. He had no time to celebrate. Pei outstretched her hands and stomped her feet. At the same time the ground rumbled beneath him. He leapt forwards, hopping off each section of ground as it shot up into the air.

"Look out!" Zoran cried, but Trin was too distracted by the shifting earth. A ball of ice collided into his chest, knocking him down. Before he had time to get to his feet, a wave from the swamp knocked him backwards into a tree where it froze, pinning him to the trunk.

Trin struggled as much as he could but he couldn't move. The cold of the ice bit through his clothes. He had finally employed negative jing, but it was too late and not enough against two strong benders. Mira appeared in front of him, panting. She held a shard of ice against his neck hard enough that it broke skin, adding to the list of cuts on his body.

"Mira, don't." Pei instructed, "It's over."

For a second Mira pushed the shard deeper into his neck, menace in her violet eyes. Then she smirked, before hurling it into the ground beside her.

"I'd prefer you to be alive to see us take control of the world anyway."

Trin was defeated. He looked on as the saddled up the bison and mounted it. It lifted from the ground with a snort, flapping her tail. He watched his brother force a smile and nod to him. _You did enough_.

Trin shook his head, tearing up. _I failed, and now I'll never see you again._

But why was that true? He still had the potential to save him right now. He wriggled in his frozen prison, but it was useless. Zoran's cage had lifted from the ground and was now out of arm's reach.

 _No. I can do this_.

He tried doing what Zoran said he did when he went into what he now knew as the Avatar state. He summoned everything inside him: all the disappointment from his mother, his inability to connect and understand anyone in his life, his hatred of Mira…

It was working. Something was stirring inside him; an ancient power hidden out of his reach, now in his touch. It felt like the source of all light and goodness of the world. He could feel the power surging through his veins, taking control of him. He was terrified of it, he felt like it was slowly possessing him, he was unwillingly surrendering control to it. There was still a choice: surrender to it, trust it to make him do things he couldn't do now, or stay who he was. But he knew he had to save Zoran, and for that there was only one choice. He surrendered to it, and let the light take over him.

 _I am the Sky_. He heard himself say.

Suddenly, it was there. All this power was his. The ice surrounding him suddenly shattered into a million pieces. He sprinted forwards, pushed by the wind until he was under the bison. It was already above the forest canopy.

Wind began swirling around Trin's ankles, faster and faster until he felt himself be lifted. The funnel grew, pushing him further upwards. He burst through the canopy, feeling the sun and wind as he emerged from the forest. Ordinarily he would've looked down to see the wavering twister beneath him, but now there was only one thought on his mind: save Zoran.

He passed the cage with Zoran gawking at him, shocked at his little brother's power and glowing white eyes. The thin tornado moved beneath him as he tailed the bison, but it was already pulling away faster than he could move. Instead, he launched himself forward, thrusting horizontally towards the bison. He landed on its fur but could not get a full grip on it, sliding downwards. Somewhere inside himself he was terrified; surely he would not be able to survive another fall. Fortunately, his clasping hands caught part of the bison's saddle.

"Yeah, go bro!" Zoran yelled, both terrified and excited.

Trin flung himself upwards, landing between the girls. To the tail side of the bison, Pei stood up, withdrawing a pouch of rocks from her shirt. To the other side of Trin, on the hump of the bison, Mira gazed at him, shocked. She was carrying a frozen sword.

Pei responded immediately, hurling a rock at him. It would have hit him squarely in the temple, but he ducked to the side of it, pushing behind it so that it continued onto Mira. Mira stumbled but managed to block it with her sword. She then leant forwards and moved towards Trin, holding her sword above her shoulders.

Trin spun his hands around, preparing to blast Mira but at the last second, several rocks bound his hands together and raised them above his head. He swung aside, evading a slice to his abdomen from Mira. She swivelled around and sliced the sword with all her weight through the air, aimed to cut through his back. Trin lifted his feet up to his hands and waited for her to pass beneath him before dropping his legs, knocking her to her stomach. The sword fell out of her grip and slid off the bison, far down into the canopy below.

That's when Trin did something neither of the girls could anticipate.

Swinging backwards slightly, he thrust his full weight forward, causing him to swing in a full arc above his hands. During the motion, an air funnel generated by his legs caught Mira and pulled her upwards with him before releasing on the other side. She flew into Pei and the two of them rolled over the bison. Pei managed to hold onto Mira's wrist with one hand, and part of the bison's saddle with another.

Pei, with all her might began to pull Mira up, but to her shock, Trin jumped over them off the bison. He grabbed hold of the key-chain around Mira's neck which immediately broke. Zoran was horrified to see Trin fall through the air, too far away from him. However Trin blasted air to the side of him, knocking him into the cage. Zoran grabbed hold of his wingsuit, before Trin unlocked his cage with the key. The cage door swung open and Trin grabbed Zoran.

"What are you _doing_?"

He felt himself be pulled by his little brother, and together they free-fell downwards into the forest canopy. They braced themselves.

"They're falling now," Mira said, breathing heavily. "They'll be weak after that fall, we can kill him and recapture the other."

Pei merely shook her head, "Not today."

Just as they were about to burst through the canopy, an orb of air surrounded them. Zoran marvelled at Trin. They broke through but the branches, instead of afflicting them, snapped off and circled around them. In this way, they lowered gently to the forest floor.

"Oh my goodness." Zoran almost wet himself, "I am so proud of you bro."

But while they had survived this fall, Trin's first fall had done its damage. When Zoran looked over, he was lying unconscious in a heap.

"Dude. Come on." Zoran said, feeling for a heartbeat under his wingsuit. His hand came up red.

He hoisted his little brother to his shoulder immediately and began marching as fast as he could.

"Hang in there. Granddad is going to know what to do."

 **Chapter Nine  
** **Flowers**

 **I**

The flowers Pei had retrieved for her that morning sat in their crystal vase, next to the window. Mira couldn't take her eyes off them, and was not listening at all to the lecture Hideki was giving the two of them.

She gave them to her that morning; beautiful roses she had never seen before. They were red on the outside of the petals, white on the inside.

"Why?" was all she could ask.

Pei shrugged, "I was walking through the forest and they reminded me of you."

Mira flushed, "What, are you saying I'm bad on the outside and really sweet on the inside?"

"No!" Pei laughed, "They're just so…and you're just…" she smiled.

Why could Mira not stop thinking about that gesture, or that smile. Those flowers.

Vaguely she was aware of someone saying her name. Her eyes came back into focus, and as they did the prisms of light through the crystal vase danced.

"Did you hear any of that?" Hideki asked contemptuously.

"No." she answered.

He closed his eyes. "Pei?"

Pei smiled, "Yes."

Hideki sighed and stood up, moving to the door. "It's just a plan B anyway. If all else fails."

 **II**

In the dream he felt that he was having, Trinley wandered over the mossy earth. The morning sun dappled over the forest around him like a coat. He closed his eyes, but he couldn't feel its warmth. He was numb.

 _Am I dead?_

It seemed the only explanation. After being gravely wounded, he was walking around with no pain. He kept walking, following the sound of running water.

As he approached the shimmering river, he saw a figure on the bank on the other side. He glided closer, peering through some branches. It was a completely bald girl, seemingly from another century, kneeling and drinking from the water. She was dressed, not in a wingsuit, but in old, yellow and orange robes. A wooden staff lay beside her. Without warning, in one movement she picked up her staff and launched to the other side of the bank, pointing her staff in Trin's direction.

"Out. Now, before I drag you out."

Trin glided through the branches. It was then that he realised he wasn't in a dream, but was his spiritual self again.

Oddly, the girl wasn't shocked.

"Who are you? Where did you learn to do that?" she asked demandingly.

"Jinora," Trin answered.

The girl flinched, taken off guard. It was only now that Trin realised she had a blue arrow tattoo on her forehead.

"Jinora?" he asked. Suddenly she took steps backwards into the river, and with a flick unfolded the glider and launched downstream. Trin glided as fast as he could after her.

 **III**

Zoran took a deep breath. His first since arriving at his grandfather's, Trin slung over his shoulder. Grandfather had done the best he could, bandaging and stitching his wounds, but he had already lost a lot of blood. Trin lay in the bed: white, wet and still. Out of anxiety, Zoran relayed everything that had happened to them. He continued even when Grandfather left and brought back tea for them.

Zoran finally dared to look away from Trin. His hands shook as he took a sip of tea.  
"It's morning," he observed, panicking, "Why hasn't he woken up yet!?"

Grandfather replaced the towel on Trin's head with a dry one.

"He's not asleep," he replied, "He's meditating."

"He can't meditate!" Zoran cried. "Granddad he's dying!"

"Stop talking," grandfather hissed. "He needs peace."

"What the heck do we do!? Should we call mother?"

"No! Just leave him be, Zoran. I've done all there is to be done, we must wait for his mind to return."

 **IV**

The young Jinora had vanished. Trin could not keep up with her. He rose high above the trees, birds flew under him. All it allowed him to see were dark thunderheads in the distance.

"Trinley!" cried a voice behind him.

He turned to see the Jinora as he knew her. He realised how odd this vision would have once been to him – an ancient little woman who shouldn't even be standing – floating hundreds of metres above the forest canopy, glowing like a cloud.

"What are you doing up here!?" she called over the roar of the wind.

"I'm trying to find…I thought I saw you. A much younger version of you."

"What made you think it was me?"

"It was a bald girl, with the arrow tattoo like yours."

Jinora's expression froze. She moved right up to Trin's face. "Where. Where did she go?"

Trin stammered. "I…uh…she was following the river so I guess that way-ish."

Without hesitation, she took off in the direction of his finger.

"Come on, Trinley!"

Trin struggled to keep up with her. "I said "ish"!"

"It doesn't matter. Once I'm close enough I'll be able to feel her spirit. We're connected."

"So she is you!?"

Jinora looked behind her at him, and grinned.

"Yes."

 **V**

Mira's thoughts were broken when their bison suddenly dropped to the ground. She jumped, alert.

Pei laughed, "No cause for alarm, I'm just seeing if this is the place." She dismounted, and rubbed the bison's head, smiling.

"Place?" Mira asked, confused. She looked around and only now noticed they were in the middle of a field.

"Wow, you really weren't listening this morning! We're trying to find the tunnel." Pei began running her hands over the ground, looking left and right.

"Oh right. The tunnel."

Pei walked in circles before crouching, and looking left to right. "I think it might be here. Do you want to check for water?"

Mira lowered herself onto the grass, careful not to be near Pei. Pressing her ear against the ground, she nodded, and stood aside. Pei waited until she had moved aside, before punching into the ground below her. It crumbled around her, and she dropped a short distance into a hollow. Mira dropped gracefully beside her.

Pei grinned, "When I first met you I never would have dreamed you to drop into a dark, dirty place."

Mira gave a weak smile, and looked around. Pei had been accurate – they were in the centre of an earthen tunnel, a small creek ran under their feet on one end. The walls were smoothed stone, but the unavoidable damp stench of dirt and worms lingered. As far as they could see, there was a pinprick of light; on the other end, darkness.

Pei took a glow stick from her pocket and cracked it on her knee. She held it out to Mira.

"You lead," Mira said, standing back.

A glimmer of surprise passed over Pei's face before she began trudging towards the dark end of the tunnel. Her boots sloshed easily through the mud, while Mira shuddered in her shoes as muddy water filled them.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Pei asked. "You haven't been yourself all morning."

Mira cringed, "Why? Because I haven't said anything nasty to you?"

Pei frowned, and turned. "What's wrong?"

"Keep moving, we don't know how long that stick will last."

"Long enough," Pei replied, but she turned and continued.

"Do you still want to free the bison?" Mira asked.

"What?"

"You've asked about it a few times. I think it's time we went to Cirrus and freed them."

"Right, yeah," Pei turned, smiling, "Thanks."

After a while passed in silence, they unexpectedly stumbled upon their destination. The small glow stick barely illuminated the room, so Pei struck a piece of flint on the torches. They revealed an entire cavernous room. The water travelled through here, from the source of a tiny hollow in the opposite wall. Above them was an aperture built of glass – unbeknownst to almost everyone, the floor of the prison. This, however, wasn't even the main feature of the room. To their right was a massive mechanical, humanoid suit, perhaps triple their size. It was built almost entirely of glass, so that even the cogs within it were completely visible.

"Let's get this done," announced Pei.

Together they detached a massive tank from the back of the suit, and lowered it to the ground. While Pei moved large rocks into compartments along the shoulders of the suit, Mira bent water into the tank. Pei thought she saw Mira spying her through the window of water between them, but as she lowered it she seemed focussed on only the tank. Lastly was the oil. It was a two-person job. Pei lifted the tank of oil submerging a pipe along the spine of the suit in the tank, while Mira turned a crank to take up the oil. She looked everywhere except at Pei.

"Do you want a break?" Pei asked.

Mira nodded, sitting against a wall. She caught the tankard of water thrown by Pei, before wiping the uncharacteristic oil stain off her face.

"People don't like me," she said after a while.

"That's not true," Pei retorted.

"It's okay, I know they don't. I think I prefer it when they don't. I've never understood wanting to be liked. It's hard, Pei. Getting people to like you. Why can't everyone just do their own thing, and forget about it? Does it really matter?"

Pei whispered, "I like you."

"You shouldn't. You have an excuse to hate me."

"What do you mean?"

Mira looked at the wall, her eyes burning, "I'm the reason your brother's dead."

"Come on," Pei comforted, "it's nobody's fault. He was killed in battle."

"This isn't the first suit they made. They tried first with simple attachments, arms and legs but they all were inefficient. Then I suggested they make a suit with a full body attachment."

Pei breathed through her flared nostrils.

"It was a high chance of failure, but it had to happen. I found someone who was a physical match to Xaga, a good candidate for the surgery. It failed."

"Stop."

"That's how your brother died."

Pei stood up, "Take it back. Tell me that was a lie."

Mira stood up, "I'm sorry, Pei. He's buried beneath us right now."

Pei's face went red. Her fists shook by her side. The entire room began to tremble. They moved in a circle, facing each other.

"I gave my life for you," Pei seethed, "I gave up everything, and you're telling me it was for nothing? For a lie!?"

"I'm sorry-"

"No. You want my fucking pity!? How about punishment?" The ceiling shook, rubble rained down on them. "Everything I've done has been for nothing! _Nothing!_ "

Every part of her was trembling. Surges of different emotions lit up her mind like fire until suddenly they smoothed into a single, uniform realisation:

 _I am the Earth._

Mira backed into the tunnel entrance as Pei marched towards her, her eyes glowing completely green.

"You killed D. And for that, I will destroy you."

 **VI**

Trin watched his reflection as they hovered over the river. He felt so free, gliding through the air without consequences. He could see how Jinora could stay in this state for her life; it was the definition of bliss. Nothing mattered.

"I can feel her now!" Jinora announced. "We're close."

 _Her…_ Trin wondered.

"I wonder why she's trying to avoid us by following the river. She clearly doesn't understand spirit stuff as well as us."

"Clearly," Jinora laughed distractedly.

Trin suddenly halted in the air, letting Jinora continue. She noticed after a while, and turned.

"What are you doing, Trinley? We're going to lose her."

"Exactly, "her". She's not you is she? Who is she?"

Jinora shrugged belligerently, "You'll know when we get there."

"No," Trin replied. "I need to go back. Zoran's worried about me." He turned, before Jinora stopped in front of him

"Trinley, this is important!"

"Why!?" he shouted.

The old woman flinched, before taking a deep breath. "Everything I have taught you before has been at the front of my mind. There's so much more I can teach you…how the world became what it is…what Xaga plans to do and how you can stop him – I know all these things! But they're buried so far back in my mind." She looked down. "I can't remember any of it.

"That girl you saw this morning. She knows everything. She can help us!"

"If she wants to help us then why is she trying to get away from us?"

Jinora shook her head, "I don't know…maybe she's frightened of ghosts?

Trin shook his head.

"Come on, Trinley. She's getting out of reach. Help me do this one last thing." She turned and began gliding up the river again.

Trinley reluctantly followed. He trusted her, but didn't believe her. What was so important that she had to keep lying about?

 **VII**

Pei roared as she threw down her arms; Mira ducked as part of the wall broke off towards her head. It smashed against the opposite wall, raining her with rocks. Amidst the rubble she tried to run away but a stone raised in front of her, tripping her so she landed into the water. She had just pulled her head out of the water when she heard noise from her above her. Immediately, she rolled to the side as a column from the ceiling pounded violently into the ground.

The running water pooled around the column, soaking Mira's legs. She reached into the water and pulled out a shard of ice, and threw it behind her at Pei's face. Without flinching, Pei put her forearms together stopping the ice with a rock. She released the rock forwards and it smashed into the column, blasting Mira backwards.

Mira began running, coughing blood as she went. The pinprick of light in the distance seemed forever away, but she could make it to the opening where they dropped in. She went as fast as she could, seemingly outrunning Pei as when she glanced back, all she could see was darkness. After eternity, she reached the column of light of where they had dropped in. Without hesitating, she launched herself off the mound of earth. Blinded by sunlight, her hands scrabbled for a proper grip on the ledge. She could hear rumbling coming near her. Her legs flailed wildly until she pulled her knee up. Her face pressed momentarily against the warm grass. Finally, heaving, she brought her other leg up. Almost free.

Something suddenly enshrouded her ankle. The dirt climbed up her legs, wrapping her into its cold embrace. She attempted to claw herself away, but by now her entire lower body was being pulled by the cloak of earth. Her fingers could hold on no longer, and she felt herself be pulled back into the darkness, thrown into the mound of dirt.

From her face sideways she saw the glowing green eyes glide towards her. Pei drew close to her, riding a wave of crackling stone. Mira barely had time to get to her feet before Pei was upon her, who showed no chance of stopping. With each word she ripped a spike through the wall, pinning Mira in the centre of the tunnel:

"No. More. _Running_."

Mira glared at Pei, pinned, panting, pleading.  
There was going to be no mercy.

Pei took out a rock spike from the wall. It levitated in one hand, pointed at Mira's neck. The other hand steadied behind the spike, ready to drive it.

Mira looked down, waiting for the end. She noticed immediately the water pooling at her feet. Something felt different. Normally, with her free hands she would try to attack Pei, an attack that would be weak. But now, her desire to attack mixed with her desperation to escape. Finally, she had the balance, the ebb and flow that would allow her to master her element.

Pei let the spike fly, but at the last second a whip of water reached up and knocked it off-course. Before Pei could react, tongues of water wrapped around her hands and froze. She roared in frustration, pounding the walls. Meanwhile, Mira brought water to her hand and formed a solid knife. She stabbed it into the stone spike behind her, and broke through it. At the same time as she broke through and freed herself, Pei managed to free her hands by smashing the ice. Mira shuffled backwards, and raised a web of water in the air. She froze it, forming a barricade against Pei, then sprinted.

Nothing was going to stop Pei. She blast forward her earthen spikes, which simultaneously smashed through Mira's ice. She surged forward, again carried by a wave of shattered stone.

Mira glanced behind her in time to see Pei already catching up to her. Within seconds she was upon her, raining more stone spikes on her. To Mira's own surprise, she avoided them with ease, swerving, and parrying and retaliating with her own ice spikes. Pei easily avoided them, they shattered before she reached them through hurling rocks. They continued like this until Mira saw her opening - the tunnel began to fill with light. Pei was getting closer - she was soon going to be on her.

Suddenly, instead of moving backwards, she stepped forwards, being unexpectedly close towards Pei. Mira used the surprise to turn the tables by forming an array of spikes around Pei, trapping her.

Mira made it free. She took the distraction to sprint forwards towards the light. Suddenly she felt rumbling all around her, jittering her bones and teeth. An incredible crack sounded, so deep and enveloping as if the bedrock itself was being carved into. The ceiling above them began to drop. Behind her, she saw the ice surrounding Pei shatter.  
The ceiling continued to drop, suffocating the remaining space.

"Stop it!" Mira screamed. "You'll kill us both!"

"You're the last one out of prison, once I take out this tunnel." Pei  
replied in her booming, ethereal voice. "I want that sacrifice. For  
D."

Freezing the water Mira launched herself forward and slid towards the entrance. She felt the ceiling begin to press against her clothes just as she reached the opening. As she was free, it completely closed behind her.

The drop was massive. Her breath left her, so that she couldn't even scream. Through her asphyxiated vision she saw a river below her. She brought up a funnel of water that rose high to meet. It brought her down gracefully, dropping her, exhausted, on the bank. She exhaled wildly.

A crack above her echoed around the valley. She looked up in time to see Pei falling, a massive boulder behind her. With her fists she threw it through the air towards her. Mira pushed threw herself to the side, propelled by a wave of water. She landed, rolling, as it came to the earth with a boom.

Mira stood up quickly and "reached" into the river. Pei was thrown by a wave against a tree beside Mira. The water froze, pinning her.  
Another wave through against her, freezing all but her head.

Pei wryly opened her regular eyes. They were tired, but still burned  
with hatred.

"Why?" She croaked. "I trusted you."

I told you, Pei. Nobody likes me. That's how it should be."

She began marching away, but Pei called out.  
"You better kill me now. Otherwise I'm going to kill you. Then I'm going to kill your father."

Mira didn't reply. She limped away in her tattered silk shoes.

 **VIII**

"I've seen that before…" Trin said, "When we were staying at the arena."

They had followed the girl to the head of the river, to a large bay. In the centre stood the massive statue of bald man with a staff and arrow tattoos. But where the girl had flown to with her glider was a large island in the centre of the bay. It was getting dark, and not just because of the night - storm clouds were rolling above them, the dark throat of the sky rumbling.

"Let's go," Jinora announced urgently.

"No." Trin halted, "Not before you tell me what's so important about that island."

Jinora shook her head in exasperation: "There's no time. Xaga is about to do something catastrophic, they'll know how we can stop him."

" _They?_ Who's they?"

Jinora sighed, "Her family."

"How do you know so much about them?"

Jinora looked down at the sea. Small waves rolled over the sand.

"If I tell you, will you follow me? No more questions?"

"Yes."

She turned towards him. "I know because they're what's left of my family."

Hiding her expression, she took off over the sea, with Trin in pursuit.

To his surprise, much of the island was man-made. They passed over a dilapidated jetty that extend into the sea. A woman washed her clothes in the water below them. A set of stairs led up the rise of the mountain, leading to a paved area and large tower.

Suddenly, the woman below them looked up to the sky and saw them, glowing against the storm-clouds. She cried and waved, running along the jetty but Jinora, seemingly oblivious, kept flying.

"We're so close. I can feel it." Jinora announced.

"Feel what!?" Trin called out.

Below them, the woman had reached a small bell set at the end of the jetty, and began ringing it. Another bell from somewhere on the island began clanging. Soon a cacophony had begun, and the clanging below them drowned out the thunder above them. Candles lit up all over the island, and began moving towards the paved area in front of the tower.

"We're here!" Jinora announced, as they hovered above a large yin-yang symbol in the ground. They lowered themselves, now surrounded by a vigil of about twelve candles.

"Jinora!"  
"I can't believe-"  
"She's returned!"

"Hello, family," she greeted, as they landed onto the symbol. "Thank you, for keeping watch all these years. I wish we could drink tea, and laugh, but the time is now. Will you please open my tomb?"

Along with Trin, everyone gasped, but then people began to move forward.

" _Stop what you're doing!_ "

The girl from the river pushed through the crowd and halted them with her staff.  
"Get back, everyone. Why are you here? And why did you bring her here, did you know she will die!?"

Trin stammered, "I-I don't-"

"Leave the boy alone, darling Lexa. I led him here." She turned to Trin, "I'm sorry I lied to you, but it was half true. I know something in my mind will help us stop Xaga, but my memory's lost. The only way to restore it is to return to my body."

"But you'll _die!_ " yelled Lexa, stamping her staff into the ground.

"I'll be alive long enough to talk to the boy, to tell him what he needs to know to save us all. Now open the tomb."

Two airbenders, clad in orange and red robes stepped tenderly forward, one each for yin and yang. The two monks airbent into the eyes of yin yang. After several seconds, yin yang opened, disappearing into the earth. A simple wooden coffin was revealed. Without hesitation, Jinora lowered herself into the coffin. Lexa threw her staff down and left in disgust.

It began to rain.

 **IX**

"It was raining…" Zoran said absent-mindedly. Trin had just had a paroxysm of seizures before laying still.

"What?" G sighed.

"The day we got our bending. I remember, it was a huge storm like this."

They both jumped as suddenly heard a loud bang downstairs.

"Thunder?" Zoran asked.

 _Bang!_

They hurried downstairs to the door.

 _Bang!_

The door shuddered in its frame. A flash of lighting illuminated a rectangle around the door, broken by two feet at the bottom.

G nodded to Zoran, before pulling open the door. A hooded figure stepped into the doorway, heavy boots trudging mud. A flash of lightning. Pei.

Zoran blasted a spear of fire aimed at her head. She leapt to the side and lifted her arms. A large rock cracked through the floor, colliding with Zoran in the chest. He rolled over backwards on to the table unmoving. As she approached the table, he leapt forwards onto his feet, a ball of fire resting in his palm. G suddenly moved in-between them.

"Stop, I just fixed this house. Zoran, I'm guessing she didn't come all this way just to fight you."

"Wouldn't surprise me. Trin's dying because of her. She's with Xaga."

"I hate Xaga."

"Then why are you here?"

"I know what he's going to do, and now that we've split I bet they're going to do it tonight. My guess is Mira on her way to Cirrus right now."

Zoran lowered his hand. "Why do you need me?"

"If you don't stop her, she's going to kill everyone."

 **Chapter Ten  
** **The Rise and Fall of Cirrus**

 **I**

Pei looked hard from Zoran to his grandfather, waiting for a response.

"My bison is in the stable. Her saddle should be against the wall. You can take her if you treat well."

"Of course," Pei responded. "Thank you sir. I'll saddle her up now, meet me out there."

Once she stepped out into the curtain of rain, Zoran turned to his grandfather.

"Why did you do that granddad!?"

"I trust her. I can tell she's looking for revenge."

"Do you know who she is!? She's one of Xaga's agents. She was…involved with Mira!"

At the same time as he said her name, Pei burst into the room. She looked down at the floor.

"It's time to go."

G clapped a hand to Zoran's shoulder. "You'll be okay."

Zoran hugged him tightly, "Take care of Trin."

"Of course," he replied, "If you see your mother, tell her I'm ready to lead again if I have to."

"What?" Zoran pulled away.

"A story for another time. Go! Go!"

"Thanks again!" Pei called out.

He watched them mount the bison and take off.

"I still don't trust you!" Zoran called out against the heavy rain.

"Fine."

"Why don't you tell me everything? Like why you lied to us."

"I did what I thought was right. I'll explain another time."

"No. Now!"

"We all lied to each other. They told me my brother died in battle against Cirrus. So yes, I knew we were killing senators, and I was happy to. But then I found out that _she_ killed him, volunteered him for an experiment."

Zoran peered at her stoic face through the sheets of rain, trying to find evidence that she was lying.

"It doesn't matter anyway." She continued, "now that I'm outside of their control I realise exactly what they're trying to do, the reason for everything. Even why they kept telling me they wanted to free the air bison."

"Why?"

"They're going to try to somehow collapse Cirrus. The bison will be gone so they won't be able to escape."

"That's impossible. As long as there's airbenders, the city keeps flying."

"Well I guess that's what Mira's for. In a storm like this she'll just wipe out all the airbenders."

Zoran laughed, "We may as well turn back then! Haven't you been on Cirrus during a storm?"

"Not on the surface. Why?"

"The whole city is designed to keep out benders aside from airbenders, do you really think they'd allow rain to just drop on the main street? Do you see those big pylons down there? They're air-pressurised pulses all around Cirrus, the rain just bounces right off them like a big umbrella."

"What?"

"I'm telling you, whatever her plan is it's not what you're thinking."

They touched down to the bison stables. Wooden huts where the bison slept surrounded them. As Zoran had said, it was completely dry. Pei slid down the side of the bison and put her hand to her temples.

"Damn it, I was so sure."

"Sorry."

She shook her head in silence for a few seconds. "Wait. Why is it so quiet?"

"Yeah it's hard to hear the rain down here."

"No," she began walking briskly to one of the stables, "a hundred bison and not even one is snoring."

She heaved open the door, and Zoran stepped inside, lighting a flame in his hand. They gasped: all the bison were gone.

 **II**

The ancient woman stirred awake. The four other people in the room exhaled in relief. She peered through her near-blind eyes at them: the air boy, and three of her family members including the tough girl.

"Tea," she croaked, spying that one of the men had a tray. The other man poured it and brought the cups to her lips. She gave a satisfied smile, adding more wrinkled to the already tree-barked face.

"Are you going to stay sour forever, girl?"

Lexa shuffled on her feet, arms crossed, "I just think it's unfair that we've been waiting for you. Generations of us, and then this kid comes along and you decide to die."

"I never asked you to wait," Jinora replied.

"And we won't now. Let's leave you two. She's only here for _him_." She seethed, glaring.

The men reluctantly left her side, leaving the tea on the bedside table. One stood at the door and turned to Trin.

"Let us know when…"

Trin nodded.

"Ahh…" she smiled, drinking the tea. "I forgot about the weight of bones, and the bite of the wind," she said wistfully, looking out through the billowing curtains through the window.

"Don't." She instructed, as Trin got up to close the window. "I've avoided living for long enough. Pour yourself some tea if you want." Trin did as he told.

"Jinora," he said, holding his tea in his lap, "why did you do this? What did you want to remember?"

"I never said I wanted to remember," she replied. "I didn't leave my body for so long because of the weight of bones or the bite of the wind."

Trin watched her close her eyes, return to many decades past, many times his age.

She opened her eyes, and told her story.

 **III**

"If the bison are gone, she must be here somewhere…" Zoran wondered aloud, "Let's try going down one of these streets."

They wandered down the street. Pei looked up and marvelled at the rain above them which could not reach them. It was as if there was a roof of glass, to go with the rest of Cirrus. A cold chill suddenly passed over Pei. She realised suddenly that not only were the air bison gone, but there was nobody anywhere.

"Are we too late?" Zoran asked nervously.

"I don't think so. There's nothing she could've done on her own."

"Then where are they all?"

Pei shook her head. They continued creeping along the moon-glossed black glass street in the shadows. Zoran looked forwards and Pei looked behind them.

"What's that?" Zoran pointed to a hub of light towards the centre of the city.

"I don't know, but listen…" They listened carefully pass the hum of the rain pulse pylons and heard hundreds of voices in the distance.

"That must be where everyone is."

"Run," Pei exclaimed. "She probably has them all in the same place."

They ran towards the lights. The rocks in Pei's satchel rolled about. They turned the corner, but they halted immediately. A crowd was milling around something spotlighted on a stage.

"Is that…her?" Zoran whispered.

"I think so." Pei replied.

"What are they doing?"

"I don't know but I don't think they're in trouble." _I think she is_ , she thought.

"Zoran, is there a way onto the rooftops so we can get a closer look?"

"Yeah, up through here."

They crept down the street and through a building, climbed the stairs to the rooftop. "That voice. Over the loudspeakers…" Zoran wondered. "I think it's my mother."

The voice grew louder as they crept closer to the edge: "-the tradition of airbenders to bring justice, to punish evil and corruption in any form without mercy. This girl, the last of Xaga's followers to be walking free had the _audacity_ to release the bison before walking down the main street. She will be punished accordingly."

Zoran and Pei reached the side of the rooftop and began to peek over the edge. They saw a full view of the raised circular dais in the centre of the town. Nea was at the front, striding around the circle and barking into a megaphone. The crowd surrounding it were becoming excited, driven into a frenzy by her words. In the centre, tied to a glass statue, was Mira. She seemed serene, and was even smiling.

"No, we will not be so forgiving to simply send her to prison with the rest of them. No, this scum is responsible for all the deaths of the senators. Myself and our two remaining…"

"Hey," Zoran muttered to Pei, "Why didn't they ever target my mother? She seems like the best target for Xaga."

Pei shrugged, "They never told me. Shush."

"In respect to the senators that she _murdered_ , justice shall be done. It is necessary that we execute her now, and throw her body off the side of Cirrus."

Zoran and Pei glanced at each other.

"Good." Pei said coldly.

Zoran glanced at Pei and then looked back at the proceedings. "Then why is she smiling? Isn't she by herself?"

"Yes, she's the last of Xaga's people out of prison."

Zoran suddenly stood up and backed away, "Except for you! She knows you're going to save her!"

"What are you doing? They'll see you!"

"I know I shouldn't have trusted you!" He pointed at her.

"Why would I bring you here if that was my plan? That doesn't-"

"Zoran!?" They both froze and looked at Nea. She was pointing at them. "Guards get-"

She was interrupted by a noise that reverberated through Cirrus; a mechanical clunking. They looked around wildly.

"No, no…" Pei stammered, looking at Mira. Her smile had grown into a grin just as the rain began to fall.

 **IV**

I was born one hundred and sixteen years ago. The world was very, very different then. For one thing, at the time of my birth I was one of only three airbenders: my father and his father, Avatar Aang. You saw his statue outside in the bay.

After Aang was Korra. During her time, something happened beyond anything my father could dream: airbenders appeared all around the world. One of those new airbenders was an anarchist named Zaheer, who wanted to wipe out world leaders including the avatars. He was very powerful, the only man in a century who could freely fly. As you can imagine, he was almost successful, but the new airbenders managed to take him prisoner.

Years and years passed. I became an airbending master, hence my tattoos, married, had children. My abilities grew: once the first to be able to make a spiritual projection of myself, after a long time I soon learned how to airbend slightly in that state. The new airbenders under father's and then my leadership could be found everywhere, helping and bringing the world into an age of unity. I believe they were solely responsible for a long time of peace in a world with a long history of conflicts. Their role in society only grew, and soon they became revered and worshipped. Trusted.

Everything began to change after a boy, one of my students, volunteered to guard Zaheer in his remote prison. The boy told Zaheer of my ability to bend while spiritually projecting. One day I confronted the boy and asked what Zaheer had told him…

 _Air is all around us_ , he said. _Vital. Before there can be pure peace, there must be uniformity. Only the wind._

I quickly ensured the boy stopped visiting Zaheer, but it was too late (no doubt they continued to visit each other through what I had taught them). The boy published a very persuasive book which passed through the air nomads quickly. It was soon developed into a movers series! Rifts suddenly sprouted everywhere: benders and benders, benders and nonbenders, believers and sceptics. Everyone was afraid to walk down the street, suddenly fearing their neighbours. By the time the Avatar and I realised it was a problem, it was too late. An airbender can stop the wind, but they cannot stop the trees from blowing.

Around the same time, perhaps by chance or perhaps not, Zhurrick Industries produced a type of reinforced glass resistant to fire, water and force. The undercurrent of Zaheer's supporters obtained it, and began building in secret. _We have a right to it_ , they said. _Airbenders have been undervalued for centuries. At least let us build a Cirrus for us._ Maybe I'm the only person left alive who regrets not stopping them from building it.

Like everything, we overlooked the meaning of Cirrus. That is, until it was launched. They kidnapped all the airbenders and a scattering of nonbenders who subscribed to Zaheer's beliefs. We tried to rescue the airbenders, at least the children. Kai managed to get all but one of our children to safety here, and I tried to rescue the other airbending children, but it was too late. Once they were in the sky, we could only reach them one bison at a time. And even then, what could we do? Their walls protected them from everything we through at them.

We heard nothing for a while, it was a stalemate. We couldn't do anything to rescue them, and I suppose they were busy forming their new world. Suddenly they revealed their secret weapon. I…will never forgive myself. It was their ability to bend while projecting. Yes, when I tried it alone my bending was weak. But they had an army of ghosts. They threatened to kill a person every day unless we exiled ourselves: firebenders back to their islands, waterbenders to their poles, earthbenders to the distant corners of the mainland. Cirrus was theirs, and they wanted everything in its shadow and beyond.

We tried to resist as long as we could but there was no stopping their threat. They took out the most powerful of us first, but not Korra. They wanted to send the message to her. She grew furious, and did all she could but she could not find a way to stop them. Utterly disillusioned, she pleaded to everyone to meet their demands. Eventually they did. Republic Cirrus, my grandfather's creation, was deserted and soon fell to ruins.

Korra contacted the spirits for the last time before sealing off the spirit portals – she didn't want to subject them to the shadow of the city. From the spirits she devised her final plan. Her friends helped entomb her in one of the ancient air temples, laying tests for the worthiest to find her and receive bending at a time in the future where a worthy Avatar would be able to accomplish what she couldn't.

I retreated with my family here. Occasionally, we would coordinate with those in Cirrus and rescue children that they did not want to raise there. We raised them here, teaching them the truth about the world, including the true nature of airbending.

As for me, I spent more and more time in my spirit form. It was when I was happiest, because even for some seconds I could forget our mistakes. You've experienced now, the feeling of floating freely, passing through unnoticed and untouched by the world.

One day, I was pulling weeds somewhere in the island's gardens. There was rustling in the bushes behind me.  
"What do you want?" I barked. Gardening was one of my pursuits to give me peace. Everyone knew to leave me alone. When nobody replied, I turned to see an old man in tattered white robes. He had a mangled white beard and long hair, much like the first time I had seen him.

 _Zaheer?_ I whispered.

He nodded.

Oddly I didn't feel threatened. Here was the most powerful airbender I knew, but he looked defeated. I knew he wasn't there to hurt me.

 _Why are you here?_

 _I left Cirrus._

 _Why?_

I watched him scratch his arm. His sleeve lifted, revealing rope burns.

 _They turned_ , he said _. It has long since left my vision._

 _You can't stay here_ , I said.

 _I know_. _I came to tell you that all will be fixed. I've given your son clear instructions for a long-term plan for…purification._

 _No!_ I shouted. _There are innocent people up there._

 _Not anymore_ , he said. Before I could stop him he took off. Just kept flying for as long as he could, I suppose.

Kai burst through the bushes, _Jinora? What's wrong?_

 _Nothing_ , I said brushing past him. _I have to see him_.

It was the last thing I said to my husband.

Against his protests I projected myself, to Cirrus for the first time and found my son alone. I begged him to not go through with what he was planning but he refused to listen.  
I left, furious with myself. As I was travelling home, I realised I didn't want to go home. I just wanted to keep flying, like Zaheer did. So I did.

I kept flying around the world. I saw amazing things, things other humans have probably never seen before. Soon the rise and fall of the sun and moon got faster and faster, and eventually clicked by like seconds. Finally I decided to return to my family, but I had been gone for far too long. My husband and children had passed. Everyone left was unrecognisable. There was nothing left there for me, and nothing in the physical world at all.

"Your son." Trin spoke after a few moments in silence. "Is he Xaga?"

Jinora nodded tearily. "Yes he is."

 **V**

Nea reacted immediately, firing her glove. A rope released from the glove, but Mira cut through it with a knife of ice before it could bind her to the pole. Pocketing her knife, she gathered water from the air and flung it at Nea, knocking her backwards where she slammed into a wall. The crowd around them dispersed, screaming and running in all directions.

Out of the chaos, three guards approached Mira simultaneously. One charged towards her. She moved her arms in an arc and splashed his legs with water before freezing him to the spot. Another guard took the distraction to take her in a headlock from behind. The third guard raised his gloved hand towards her.

She withdrew her knife from her pocket and quickly flicked it at him. It stuck in his neck near the shoulder and he dropped. The guard behind her started strangling her. She pressed her hands against his cheeks and held them. He gave a choked cry before collapsing, his brain frozen.

A rope suddenly wrapped around her ankle just as she started to run. It was from Nea, on ground clutching her stomach. "Stop her!" she cried out, "she's going after the senators!"

Mira began moving her hands, above her. The rain started collecting into a mass of floating water. As more guards approached her, she moved down one hand and icicles descended, striking all around her. They dared not cross the ring of ice. She slammed down her other hand and the rest of the icicles rain down in a line towards Nea. They snapped the rope and Nea rolled to the side and got to her feet. It was too late – Mira had already taken off, running down the street in the direction of the senators.

As she was running, closing in on them two figures dropped in front of her. Zoran palmed forward a burst of fire, but it was dulled by the heavy rain.

"Wow," Mira taunted, "That almost reached me."

Zoran growled and stepped forward but Pei halted him. "Get the senators into hiding. I'll waste her myself."

He nodded, and took off down the street. Pei emptied her satchel of rocks onto the ground and formed them into a ball. She flung it towards Mira, who sidestepped it and ran after Zoran. The ball came back, however and slammed into Mira's back, breaking into rocks again. They rolled towards Mira and circled around her waist. As Mira tried to pry them off she was lifted metres into the air before being slammed back down, winding her. The rocks disappeared. She stood up quickly, running towards Pei with her hand outstretched behind her but the rock collided with her side, slamming her into the wall. She crouched on the ground, coughing blood which quickly dissipated in the rain.

"I surrender!" she called out to Pei, "I surrender!"

"That's not an option anymore." The rocks piled again into a ball and lifted high above Mira's head. She looked up and saw it hurtling towards her, so pulled up a blanket of water around her which became a dome of ice. It wasn't enough. The ball of earth smashed through the ice. Mira couldn't avoid it now, she was blocked on all sides by her own ice. She shut her eyes, preparing for death. Instead, the giant rock had separated at the last second, harmless pebbles rained down over her.

 _Mercy?_ She looked up, peering through the wavy glass of the ice. It wasn't mercy, Pei was struggling against her bindings, and fell to the ground. Mira immediately began collecting the free water within the dome, forming it into a shape to be frozen.

"I got them!" A guard beside Mira cried excitedly. "Captain, I wrapped up one and the other is trapped in ice! Over here-"

The dome around Mira collapsed into water and she lashed out with her sword, cutting the young guard's throat. She watched the blood dissipate into the rain, and wiped off her own blood from her mouth. Turning to Pei, a chill ran down her spine. Pei had disappeared, leaving her rope bindings in a pile. She turned but it was too late, the ball of rocks collided into her yet again and she was thrown, sliding along the shallow pool of bloody water.

Pei began assembling the rocks again, it was all she could do with what she had. As they began to pull together in the ball again, water steeped over them and froze. She tried as hard as she could to wrench them free. Not enough. Mira launched over the block of ice, her sword raised. Pei stepped to the side but the sword scored a mark on her upper arm. She cried out, clutching it. Mira quickly gathered the shallow pool of water around them and the resultant wave crashed against Pei. A tower of ice froze against the wall, Pei's head marking the top of it.

"Stay out of my way." She said. Her wet hair was pressed across her face and mouth was still bloody. After sheathing her sword in the back part of her dress, she limped down the street in the direction of Zoran. By now the streets were empty again. Everyone had fled: from her, from the rain or both. Oddly, as she turned the corner she saw two figures next a wall. They were attempting to appear inconspicuous but in doing so achieved the opposite.

"Guards." She muttered to herself.

She approached them nonchalantly, squeezing her hair out for water.

"Hey!" they cried, one raised his glove immediately and fired a dart.

A block of ice raised from the shallow pool of water guided by her arm. She released and flung it towards him. It smashed against him and threw him into the wall, where he crumpled and laid still. The other one fired a rope which whipped her across the face, leaving a red mark. He laughed maniacally, and tried the same motion. Rain formed around the tip and froze, where she pulled it forwards. The man flew upwards before falling. Icicles on the ground were waiting for him.

She wasted no time in crossing the threshold and started up the stairs of the house. They were hers now. She trained her ears as she moved up the stairs

"What was-"  
"Shh."

Just as she was about to reach the top, Zoran stepped in front of her and fisted a blast of fire towards her.

She stepped backwards too far and lost her footing, and tumbled backwards. Landing on her back hard was made worse by the sword digging into her back. She pulled the limited puddles of water in the room into the air, and then fired an icicle at him. He grabbed the staircase rail and dodged it, landing on the other side. As he landed, he saw that she was running towards the door and so sent a ball of flame towards the doorway. She cried out and stepped instead into another room.

"Come on, Mira. Don't be scared." He taunted as he entered the room.

Suddenly, he heard something above and behind him. He barely dodged the blade as she dropped, swinging it downwards. She began swinging wildly again, so he moved backwards evasively. Her sword sliced through the air, narrowly avoiding him. He tried to firebend, but as he raised his hands she would cut through the air where his hand was. His legs stumbled over a chair and he fell backwards onto the table. Something uncomfortably dug into his spine. She was waiting for it, and struck downwards but he managed to roll to the side.

Her sword instead found an air canister which sent it whizzing around the room. Sensing movement to her right, she struck towards him. At the same time, he brought up a handful of fire. Someone being hit was inevitable. The flame burned through the sword and struck her in the chest. She was flung backwards into shelving. More canisters fell, raining down on her. She cried as she jumped to the side, and patted out the flame. Zoran outstretched his arm, slicing down the wall with an arc of fire. She rolled to the side. As he advanced, she hurled an air canister at him. He made the mistake of trying to blast it away with fire, and it exploded, throwing him backwards.

When the haze cleared, Mira was gone. He ran to the corridor, and saw her at the hand. He raised his hand in preparation to shoot flame after her but he didn't need to: a rope wrapped around her ankle and pulled her to the left. Running to the front door he saw what happened: Mira was standing in in the middle of a circle made up by his mother and about ten other airbenders.

He stood next to his mother, who glanced at him. "Don't think this will get you out of trouble."

"I know, you need me to take her down."

"You're going to need more than that." Mira grinned.

A guard stepped forward at once and fired a dart. It was caught by a tongue of water that reached up and dropped. Another was stopped by a block of ice, another deflected with a frozen sword which she seemingly took from nowhere. A ball of fire was cancelled by a kick of water, and a rope blocked by a wall of ice.

"This isn't working." Nea grunted, "Close in!"

The circle grew tighter around her, giving her less time to react. She had to move quicker to compensate, but it wasn't enough. A tightly aimed flame knocked away her concentration. Nea seized the opportunity to bind her leg. Another guard in front of her bound her other leg, and she was pulled over onto her back. She seethed at their laughs. They began taunting her: blasts of air pushed her around, ropes whipped at her, including one that lashed across her face. She cried out and fell onto her knees.

"Alright that's enough!" Nea called out, "capture her!"

Mira lifted her head and opened her eyes. The blue fire they glowed with shone in the night, reflecting off the water.

"Oh crap." Zoran said. " _Everyone get back_!" he screamed.

The water around Mira began circling faster and faster. Finally it rose above the ground in a ring.

" _I am the Sea!_ " her voice rang ethereally through the night.

 **VI**

"I blame only myself. He was the youngest of our seven children. Much like I was as a girl, he wasn't like the other kids. He engrossed himself in study, trying to learn as much about airbending as he could. When he discovered that there was a prisoner who was the only one in a century that unlocked the power of flight, he volunteered to be his guard straight away." Suddenly Jinora clutched her chest for several seconds, and dropped her cup on the floor. Trin went to get up but Jinora waved him down.

"It's my fault, Trin. Kai and I busied ourselves too much in world affairs, the training of our older children. We overlooked him completely." She shook her head. "I hope now you can realise why I left my body for so long. I thought I could leave it all behind. But when I sensed new benders, one for each element, I thought it was the chance for change. Especially you. An airbender of Cirrus for once untainted by their disturbed idea of peace. I knew you would be able to stop Xaga."

Trin shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"I'm sure you've worked out by now what he plans to do."

Trin nodded.

She extended a knobbly hand and rested it along the bed.

"Trinley." She rasped in agony, forcing the air in and out of her lungs. "Only you can stop Xaga. Promise me you will."

Trin stared at Jinora's hand for a long time.

He shook his head, tears in his eyes. "I'm not ready."

Jinora's mouth open slightly. Her eyes froze.

Trin looked away, out the window where it was dark and still raining heavily.

Lexa burst in the room. Her cheeks were moist and red.

"You idiot." She gritted through her teeth, "She did this all for you. She died to tell you what you need to do."

Trin stood up, "I'm not ready. I don't want to go back to my body. I didn't ask for any of this, I never wanted to be an airbender!"

She shook her head, "If you were here right now I would strangle you, you _bastard_."

"Why can't you go, or any of your family!?"

"She gave the task to you for a reason. Anyway, we're not leaving her like this."

"It has nothing to do with me. Look, I just want my life to go back the way it was. Passing through the world unnoticed, untouched by everyone."

"THEN, LEAVE!" she roared.

He nodded steadily. After one last look at Jinora, he flew out of the window.

 **VII**

Zoran grabbed his mother and they dropped to the ground. A volley of icicles blasted in all directions above their heads. The guards screamed, all of them instantly brought to the ground. As Zoran stood to his feet to retaliate, Mira had already launched herself high with a funnel of water.

"She's gone…" he said, but seconds later she was inexplicably thrown down to the ground. The rocks blasted in all directions on impact, before rising and reforming into a ball. Pei was falling, taking the ball with her, and ready to destroy Mira with it. Mira threw a frozen wave over her and rolled out of the way as she smashed through it. Zoran leapt forwards and punched a plume of fire that singed through the rain. Mira ran around it in arc towards him. One of her hands hung low, gathering up a wall of water behind her, which she launched at Zoran. It flung him backwards and pinned him onto a wall when it froze.

Nea whipped the rope directly towards her. A ball of rain formed around it and froze. It then flew back towards Nea, wrapped around her neck and pulled. High. Her hands clawed it and her legs dangled hopelessly below as it rose, and shifted from side to side.

"NO!" Zoran screamed. His other hand worked on his frozen one, trying to melt through the massive block of ice as fast as possible but it was difficult in the rain.

Mira grinned, laughing in her strangely deep voice. Pei took a run at her but with her free hand, Mira punched across in the air. A wave lapped across Pei's feet, rooting her to the spot. She was stuck, Zoran was stuck, and Nea's face had begun to turn purple.

Zoran, realising getting his hand out was going to take too long, began shooting fire at Mira. But as hard as he tried, it dissipated in the rain. He looked at his mother, and then back to Mira. He had to try again. His flame grew more concentrated with his willpower, tighter, longer and stronger but still it wasn't strong enough…

 _ZAP!_

Blue light flashed through the air. Mira was thrown backwards, and Nea dropped to the ground and laid still. Pei looked up: _was that really just lightning?_

 _ZAP!_

Pei saw it this time. The bolt from Zoran's free hand zig-zag in front of her eyes and strike Mira in the chest, who lay flat.

"Help me down!" He called out to Pei.

Astonished, she smashed into the ice surrounding her feet with the rocks, before working on the block of ice around his arm.

"How did you do that!?"

"I don't – look out!"

Mira, lifting her head, her electric blue eyes reflected across the water between them. She flicked out her hand quickly from the water, and blades of ice fired towards them.

"Go!" Pei shouted. They ran along the opposite walls towards her. Zoran launched off the wall and kicked fire towards her. She went flying, until Pei slammed her with her shoulder. Mira bounced in between them, coming to a stop.

Zoran and Pei exchanged glances, and sighed. To their horror, Mira slowly got to her feet, breathing wretchedly. She held her hands up either side of her. All around them, rain stopped. She began laughing maniacally as the rain formed a dome around them, gathering water until it was a uniform dome like glass. For a second, there was total silence. Then she brought down her hands. Piercingly sharp icicles flew towards them before halting. Through her periphery she noticed Zoran's electrified hand. The icicles turned to water and surrounded his hand just as he lifted it to fire at her. He stood there, shaking violently for a few seconds before being thrown backwards. Simultaneously, a wave knocked Pei backwards and pinned her to the wall, freezing. She did the same for Zoran.

She tossed back her hair as her eyes returned to the usual grey.

"It's over." She announced proudly. As if in response, the rain lightened. Then, she collapsed to her knees.

She instinctively looked at her arm where there was a dull grey dart protruding from it. Nea walked in front of her, rubbing her neck. "I've waited so long for this. Cirrus is finally clean of your scum."

Mira looked down, "Just don't capture them. They're innocent."

Nea did not hesitate, she fired a dart to the left of her and one to the right. One for Pei and Zoran's necks.

"No!" Pei called out, "She wants us to go to prison with her!"

"I'm your son!" Zoran called out blearily, also wearing the dart in his neck.

"I do what I do to protect this city." Nea said flatly.

"Then tell me," Mira said laughing, "isn't it true that only an airbender can operate the py… the pylons…" she dropped still.

Nea frowned at her. Something struck Pei and finally she understood Xaga and Mira's plans: why they had spared Nea out of all the senators, how they seemingly still operated without any agents, how they planned to destroy the whole city and its hundreds of occupants.

But before she call out to Nea and prevent what was coming, the night blanketed her vision.

 **Chapter Eleven  
** **The Army of Ghosts**

 **I**

Grandfather sat beside Trinley, taking long sips of his tea. The fever had passed, but Trin's face was still white as clouds. After sunrise, he had opened the curtains to let the sunlight fall on Trin and warm him. He realised suddenly that he hadn't slept in two days, and with that thought he almost fell asleep immediately. To keep himself awake, he stood up and turned on the radio and suddenly jumped: his daughter's voice blared throughout the room.

"-urgency to all Cirrus citizens. As you may know, our great city was under siege last night. While we prevailed against the onslaught, the enemy temporarily switched off the pulse umbrellas. It came to my attention that only an airbender could have done this, meaning there are still traitors in our midst. After long deliberation, myself and Senators Ting and Saad have come to a very difficult decision."

She gave a brief sigh. Grandfather frowned. When had Nea ever hesitated?

"All airbenders, myself and the Senators included, will be taken to the prison this morning. Despite all our efforts, traitors persist in our community and this will be the only way to process all of them. It will only be for twenty-four hours before we promptly return to Cirrus. Those of you who are concerned about prisoners need not worry: you will be on higher sectors of the prison, protected by our guards. The time for evacuation is now. If you live in the north east corner, your meeting-"

Grandfather switched it off, staring at the radio in disbelief.

"It's begun," said Trin.

 **II**

Pei felt defenceless without earth to bend. They were in the lowest tier of the prison, having been dragged down there by airbending footmen of Xaga. About seven of these men separated her and Zoran now from Xaga and Mira.

She felt useless. Here was her chance to take them all down, to nip the genocide in the bud but all the earth was far below her, separated by the only bending-proof material in the world. Zoran could bend, and she sensed him being restless beside her. He could not defeat them all himself, but it was a question of how impatient (and stupid) he could be. As soon as she thought it, he stood up.

"Zoran, wait!" she called out.

"What!?"

 _What can I say? "You're no match for them"? It will only encourage him further…_

"Sit, I have a confession to make."

He looked to Xaga and Mira who were speaking in hushed tones. Pulling himself away, he sat beside her. "What?" he snapped.

"Have you ever wondered why we were the ones to get our bending? Out of everyone in Cirrus, why us?"

"No. Does it matter?"

"Yes. The day we got our bending, we were told to follow you. We followed you all the way to the temple before we realised we got bending."

"Why? Why did you follow us?"

Pei swallowed and rubbed under her eyes. "We, uh… We were told to kill you."

Zoran's face went completely white. "And why were you trying to kill us, Pei?"

"I didn't know at the time, I was just following orders. But thinking about it now…I think it was to get to your mother. Look, I'm sorry-"

Zoran stood up abruptly. "It doesn't matter, Pei. I blame _HIM_!" he screamed, pointing at Xaga.

He marched to the guards. "Let me speak to him. _Hey_ , _talk to me you coward!_ "

Xaga looked up from the walkie-talkie he was holding.

"Yeah, you heard me. Hiding behind these men. Just tell me: what's so important about my mother? Hey? Are you in love with her!?"

Xaga put the walkie-talkie to his ear, "Yes?"

"Avoiding the question are we? Coward."

Mira marched to the guards and shot a villainous look at Zoran.

"Let me tell you about your mother. Your mother is a gullible, predictable fool. Just like you."

"All of them? Now?" asked Xaga into the walkie-talkie. Zoran conjured a flame in his concealed fist.

"We played her like a pai sho piece. Didn't you ever wonder why we left her to the end to kill?"

Zoran went to blast her with fire but as soon as he raised his arm, the guards blasted him into the back wall.

Xaga regarded him without concern. "Bring them all in."

"You're lying!" Zoran shouted, propping himself to his feet.

"No, not her. Take her to the bottom." Xaga instructed into the walkie-talkie, "Hideki will be waiting."

"Oh I'm not lying." Smiled Mira. "Do you have any idea what's just happened? Your mother just threw all the airbenders into prison, including herself!" she cackled.

"No." Pei stood up now, "Why did she do that?"

"I told you." Mira retorted, "Because she's stupid. And now that she's done that, only nonbenders are left on Cirrus. A perfect opportunity for us to wipe out the city and start again."

"How will you do that from in here?" Zoran hissed.

"They can, it doesn't matter how." Pei replied, "What matters is _why_. What could you possibly gain from that?"

"What we all want. Peace." Xaga's deep voice rebounded around the walls. "Let me ask you this, Pei, a question close to you. Do you know what causes earthquakes?"

Feeling patronised, Pei shook her head slowly.

"There are different types of earthquakes, but they all occur from a rift between land, or uneven ground. Conflict is much like this. People fight over their differences, it's how it has been since the beginning of time. The key to achieving peace, therefore, is uniformity. What would people fight over if we all had the same entitlements? When we were building this city, that was one of our tenets. We cleansed the world of earth, fire and water for this very reason. I don't think we went far enough"

Pei noticed Mira wincing slightly at the mention of her element. She stepped forward "your first step to achieving peace is to commit genocide!?"

"It would be a necessary short-term outcome. But it doesn't have to happen that way at all. If the two of you join Mira in giving me your bending, I will not harm any of them. They will just be sent away, and told to never come back."

"Wait." Zoran said, "you want to create uniformity and yet there'll be an Avatar in their midst?"

Xaga smiled, "I know it seems counterintuitive. In building this new Utopia, there will be some glitches. People who will have a problem with a new system. In those cases, and only then I will step in and resolve those conflicts using bending other than airbending."

"It doesn't matter to you anyway," Mira barked. "If you do not do it, we will crush Cirrus and everyone on it."

Zoran and Pei exchanged glances. "How do we know that you will just send the nonbenders away and not kill them?" asked Pei.

"Because I've done it three times before already. I sent each nation back to where they came from. We killed no more than what was necessary."

There was a moment's silence. Zoran and Pei exchanged glances again. "I think there's only one option." Zoran said.

"It's not the only option," Xaga smiled, "but it is the right one. Guards, let them through."

Reluctantly, they stepped forward and surrounded Xaga, who knelt before them. They raised their arms and placed their hands on his forehead.

"If he kills me, destroy Cirrus." Xaga instructed the guards.

The three of them closed their eyes. "Do it." He instructed, "Release your energies into me. Call on the power of Raava!"

The three of them reached inside themselves and found the Avatar's power, the visceral ball of light within them. The floor began shaking. Blinding light emitted from all three of their hands where they touched his forehead.

"Three, two, one, now!"

All four of them were thrown to separate parts of the room. Pei knocked over a guard and landed on the ground, bouncing to a halt. _Did it work?_ She thought with dread.

She looked over to Zoran who was flicking open his hand, but no fire was emerging. He looked at her with despair.

" _Yes!_ " Xaga laughed from his end of the room. He propped himself to his feet, showing vitality in his aging body. "Yes!"

He thrust out his hand and a plume of fire emerged. He laughed maniacally.

Pei's heart sunk. She clutched her stomach. It felt like she had lost a part of her now, an intrinsic part of her body like a vital organ.

Suddenly Xaga screamed and clutched his chest. The flame died down to a splutter. "Argh!" he writhed on the ground, and suddenly burst with light.

When the white faded, there were still red spots in Pei's retina. She blinked them out and looked over to Zoran. He held a flame in his palm, grinning.

"ARGH!" Xaga roared. He slammed his fists into the ground again and again. "It's the spirits, the spirit-bending. I need all of it!"

Pei and Zoran exchanged glances. _He needed all four of them._

"Guards! Separate us again. I'm going to have to meditate."

"What do you think your brother will say?" Pei asked, breathing heavily as they were being marshalled to the corner.

Zoran shook his head, and wiped sweat off his face. "I think a lot of people are going to die today."

 **III**

Trin sighed, leaning back against the pillow. He understood what Jinora had meant – after being in a spiritual state for so long, it felt heavy to return to his real body.

 _So Pei's on our side now… I wonder which of their lies she uncovered._

Pots and pans rattled downstairs, his grandfather was getting him breakfast. His stomach replied with a rumble. To distract himself he looked through the window where the warm breeze caressed against the curtain. He looked back to the edge of the bed where Xaga was standing.

The scream choked in Trin's throat. "What the f-?"

Xaga brought a finger of silence to his lips. He rotated his arms in an airbending motion. Trin saw that he was partly transparent and realised he was projecting. The door closed with the wind.

"You! What are you doing here?" Trin whispered.

"You're going to leave this house now without telling your grandfather. Then you're going to travel to the prison, and turn yourself in."

"I'm not going to do any of that."

"If you don't," he said in a controlled rage, "I'm going to kill you."

Trin sat up further. "I think that's a bluff," he said calmly. "Firstly, your mother told me that you need multiple people to kill someone."

A look of frustration flashed across Xaga's face. "I have an entire army with me."

"I don't doubt it. But the fact that you didn't threaten me first with my brother, even though he's there with you, means you don't have full control over the situation."

Xaga's nostrils flared "I have complete control over the situation. What about this then: if you don't come here now I will take down Cirrus and everyone on it."

Trin nodded. "I don't care."

"I'm not bluffing," Xaga snapped.

"Neither am I. Why would I care about any of them?"

Suddenly, there was a crash downstairs.

Trin snapped a look at Xaga. "Granddad. Are they your people?"

"No, Trin. I'm on your side."

"And yet you threatened to kill me within ten seconds." Trin pulled off his blanket and headed to the door.

"My army and I will take down Cirrus," Xaga threatened.

Trin reached through the ethereal man and opened the door, "I don't care. Now, leave."

 **IV**

"How long do you think he's been like that for?" Zoran nodded to Xaga who was still meditating.

"I don't know, but I'm sure he would've already talked to your brother." Pei replied anxiously.

"You think he's coming back now?"

"No, Zoran." Pei hissed. "Why do you think they keep saying they're going to "take Cirrus down"? Now that he knows there's no airbenders, they can!"

"But there's an emergency air supply?"

"That he's probably on his way to now to deactivate!"

"Oh right." Zoran surveyed the room. "We have to try to stop him now."

Pei nodded, "I won't be much help to you without my bending, but I'll try."

Mira peered at Pei suspiciously as she edged around the room, running her hand over the wall. Zoran stood up, and started doing stretches. She stood up at once and yelled at the guards.

"Watch them! They're up to something."

The guards braced themselves. Zoran laughed and shrugged it off, before turning to the wall. He snapped back around. With his hands wrists clasped together in a lotus-shape, he blasted out a cloud of fire.

The guards blocked it with air, containing a pocket of fire in the middle of the room. Pei charged at the guards, shouldering them as hard as she could. They lost their concentration and the fire broke through, blasting two of the guards in the chest across the room.

Pei felt the nape of her shirt be pulled and she was thrown against a wall. One of Mira's cold hands closed around her neck, the other pressed against her forehead. She felt her brain go numb as it grew colder. Her consciousness began to leave her as she swung wildly at Mira, but her long arms were keeping her away from her face. She grabbed Mira's hand instead, and pulled her fingers back until she heard a snap.

Mira screamed, clutching her hand to her chest. As she was bending down, Pei kneed her in the face. Her head snapped up, and Pei's boot found her exposed chest.

At the same time, Zoran leapt off the wall and kicked a ball of fire into a guard's chest. He slid across the room, colliding with Mira. As Zoran landed, a funnel of air pulled him upwards and threw upside down across the room. He rolled to a stop, but as he got to his feet a powerful gust knocked him into the wall. The remaining four guards closed in on him, laying blows at first by air but then by solid fists.

Pei, seeing he was in trouble, ran across to him but was tripped by Mira's hand. Within seconds Mira was on top of her, raining blows.

"Enough!" Xaga's voice boomed. "Stop, you all. It's done. There's no point fighting now, Cirrus has fallen!"

 **V**

Trin bounced down the stairs, calling out to his grandfather. It was silent, and empty. He crept into the kitchen and the surprise seized his heart: his grandfather was being bound by a man in red and yellow robes, his mouth covered by a hand. His eyes were wide as if in warning.

Trin turned around just in time to see a wooden staff smack into his face. He grabbed his nose and lifted his head, but before he could retaliate he was thrown backwards into the kitchen wall. Pans rained down around him. He propped himself onto his feet but immediately the staff was pointed at his throat.

"Remember me?" Lexa asked. "I'm the great-granddaughter of the woman you disregarded."

Trin massaged his forehead, "How did you find me?"

"My silent friend here thought he saw a ghost floating in this direction. This was the only house along this direction."

"Let go of my grandfather. This has nothing to do with him."

Lexa tilted her head, "Let him breathe."

G gasped for air, "Who are you people? Why are you here?"

"We're Jinora's remaining family, and we're here to carry out her final orders. To make him stop Xaga."

"Stop him from what?"

"Xaga just appeared to me," replied Trin. "He told me to come to the prison or he'd take down Cirrus." He looked at Lexa, "I was just on my way to the prison now when you came."

Lexa smacked him on the ear with the staff. "That doesn't sound like you at all. What did you really say?"

When there was no response, Grandfather turned to him and asked "Trinley, is the city already descending?"

Trin nodded, "I think so."

"Then why aren't you doing anything about it!?" Lexa roared.

Trin stared at her through his black eyes, "Because they're not my responsibility."

She went to hit him with her staff again but he ducked and launched himself off the stove at her. He tackled her to the ground and rolled to the side. As she reached for her staff, he pulled down a column of pots that rained around her before running out the door.

As she got to her feet to go after him, G called out to her.

"You're going about this the wrong way, girl." He said. He turned to his captor, "I think you can release me. I can't do you any harm."

Lexa nodded, and G was released.

"May I have your staff?" he asked.

"Why?" Lexa looked at him suspiciously.

"For persuasion." He smiled.

The grass was still wet where Trin was sitting. G laid down the staff in front of him, and sat next to him.

"G don't! Your hip."

"It will do it good."

Trin turned back to look at the slowly descending Cirrus. "It's going so slow, how will it kill everyone?"

"It will pick up speed. Don't you worry about that."

Trin glanced at him, then looked back at Cirrus. "Why are you trying to convince me?"

"Actually, Trinley, I'm here to tell you that you can do whatever you want. I know those people mean nothing to me. You're like me, only caring about yourself or family."

Trin shuffled uncomfortably about this painfully accurate arrow of truth. "It's not just that. If I help today, they're just going to call on me every other time there's a crisis."

"That's true. But is there a part of you that wants that?"

"No."

G smiled, "I thought so too. I once had your mother's position a long time ago when nonbenders could have any occupation. I hated it, every minute of it. Everyone's petty little problems that they couldn't deal with themselves. Why should I care? Then, one day I found myself downgraded, replaced by an airbender. I became depressed. It left a gap I didn't know was there. So I left Cirrus and built this house, surrounded myself with books I could bury myself in. Books you've read almost since you could open your eyes."

"So what? I read books because I want to be in them?"

"You read them, Trin, because even if you don't realise it, there's something missing from your life. A gap that could be filled by saving those people." He nodded to the descending city.

Trin shook his head.

Grandfather stood up. "Anyway, it's falling faster. Lexa will have to do. I'll give her instructions. Don't fly away with that glider, will you?"

As he walked back to the house, he looked behind him and saw Trin pick up the staff and examine it. He smiled to himself.

 **VI**

Trin speared through the clouds in an upward spiral. He felt amazing: he didn't think he could feel so free without spiritually projecting. This was better. He realised as soon as he picked up the glider and burst through the canopy that up until now he had never truly lived his life. Always moving through life unnoticed. Untouched.

 _Remember this moment_ , he thought to himself. _What being alive feels like._

He soared above the clouds, above Cirrus before heading to its centre. The euphoria quickly subsided when, lowering himself, he saw people walking the street alert and panicked. Nea had obviously not left them open to attack: they were armed with crossbows. Trin swore as he landed on top of a building. Sheathing the glider in the back of his shirt, he peered over the edge. He swore again. Next to the statue of Zaheer was the only entrance he knew to the Underworks. Currently, it was being prowled by people armed with crossbows on high alert. What was he to do? He didn't trust his bending enough to defend himself against scores of cross-bolts. Preparing himself, he searched for the door to head downstairs.

As sneaky as he thought he was, a guard spied him straight away. "There!" he screamed excitedly. Trin raised his arms for a second in surrender before sprinting down the street. The horde of civilians rushed after him. He sprinted to the right, looking backwards at them. It was a dead-end. The guards cornered him against the wall, raising their loaded crossbows at him.

"Why is he glowing weird?" one asked.

"Fire!" The group fired their bolts, but none seemed to touch him. Instead he grinned and disappeared.

The real Trin sprinted across the empty street to the Underworks grate. He dropped down to the ladder inside, and sealed the grate behind him. Shuddering, he crept down the ladder and began jogging through the corridors. Once, when his mother was temporarily the Senator of the underworks, he and Zoran were brought through here with guards. Ever since then he was terrified to return. Large sweaty men would stare at them in their fancy wingsuits as they went past. Now, what was more terrifying was the absence of everyone.

His fear was both absorbed and deflected by his adrenaline. He continued jogging, trying to summon the map of the Underworks in his mind. Being the major purpose of the Underworks, he knew the air storage room was the central ring. He also knew it was massive – about a third of the area of the whole Cirrus. The problem was finding the right corridor to access it, as it was only privileged to airbenders.

This last realisation came at the right time. As he turned the corner, he saw the bulky door covered with warnings and "Nonbenders not permitted" stickers. He bent into the lock and with a hiss it opened. A wide, white corridor ran out in front of him. At the end of this room was a simple automated door which slid out in front of him. An identical white corridor ran out in front of him. _Depressurisation room?_ He wondered belligerently, jogging the length of the corridor until he reached another heavy door which he had to airbend into to open.

He was half-expecting another pristine white corridor. Instead, it was the exact opposite. Chaos was erupting all around him: in the form of sirens, loose platinum air cylinders rolling about, flashing red lights, sparking machinery. He sprinted towards the centre of the room where he could see a circular control panel. Although he didn't have time to absorb it, through his periphery he noted holes all around the wall where the air from the horns was collected into tubes or cylinders that were transported elsewhere in the Underworks for different utilities.

When he reached the control panel, he looked around frantically for the main switch which would turn the emergency air supply back on. The first thing he spotted was a microphone. Instinctively he picked it up. He heard feedback ring through the room.

"Hello?" he spoke into it. His voice boomed all around him, shaking his bones. "Hello, I am here to rescue everyone. Cirrus is kind of falling but stay calm!"

He looked down through the transparent tiles of the room. Being the only area of the Underworks under which there was no balloons, he had a direct view of the ground below. It was getting exceedingly close.

"Everyone should stay indoors. I repeat, stay indoors!" He looked around the control panel and his eyes stopped on a glowing red lever. _That has to be it._  
"Bye," he said into the microphone and ran to the lever.

 _BANG!_ The entire city shook and began to tilt. Trin grabbed hold of the lever but it slipped out of his hands as everything began to tilt upwards.

"No no no no no!" he cried as he slid down the floor. He tried to grab hold of something but the tiles were so smooth that he continued sliding down to the wall where he came in. The wind was knocked out of him as he slammed against the wall. The entire city was now at a 90° angle. The floor extended above him like a massive wall. But that was the least of his problems. Debris began hurtling down towards him. A small cylinder slammed into the wall beside him at such a pace that it left a dent. A grinding noise alerted him to look upwards. He watched a massive piece of machinery come down towards him. Although he wasn't near it, he put his hands over his head as it smashed beside him, smashing through the airlock door.

Another air cylinder hurtled directly towards him, spinning through the air. He rolled to the side, inadvertently through the door. He grabbed hold of the door frame. Looking below, at the bottom of the two corridors was the large piece of platinum machinery, now lying mangled and broken. A small cylinder slammed directly into his knuckles. He screamed, falling. Just before he reached the second corridor, he whipped out the glider and it supported him in the door frame. He glanced below him again. The mess at the bottom would surely rip him to shreds if he fell now. Sensing movement, he looked up and saw that the glider was shifting in position, out of alignment with the door frame.

"Oh no, please no."

The worst happened. The glider slipped through the door frame. Acting quickly, he snapped open the glider and tried to surge upwards, air blasting from his feet. He couldn't keep going for long. He was exhausted.

 _BANG!_

Just as he thought that he couldn't hold on any longer, Cirrus righted itself. He slammed into the floor. He felt like weeping with exasperation, but he knew he had to fix this as fast as he could. The main room seemed like it was about to fall apart; the tiles below him shook in their frames, the walls and ceiling rattled, raining nuts and bolts. He saw through the tiles that they were already significantly closer to the ground and it was now moving quickly. He didn't have much time. The red lever burnt in his vision.

Just as he thought the worst was ever. The tiles below him began ripping out from beneath.

"No! Please just let me get there!" he screamed, almost sobbing. The debris from all around him began flying upwards. Metres from the lever, he soon followed, and felt himself be pulled up towards the ceiling. He slammed against a light, smashing the glass. The tiles from the floor flew towards him, the plate glass threatening to pierce him. Although he hadn't done it before, instinctively he formed an air shield around him. The tiles and debris bounced off it. The floor was almost completely gone. A criss-cross pattern which held the tiles in place remained, as well as the control panel ring in the centre. They were now rushing through the clouds. He had maybe minutes left before it would be too late

Defending himself was one thing, but how on earth would he get to that lever? He tried pushing himself forward but the air pressure was entirely fixing him to the ceiling. Blasting downwards with air was better. He moved inch by inch towards the lever but still the best he could do was halfway before the air pressure ripped him upwards, slamming him against the ceiling again. He gritted his teeth. Tears of asphyxiation rolled out of his eyes and down his cheeks.

There was one thing left to try.

He closed his eyes and meditated, finding the only peace left inside. _Come on, Trin_ ,he could hear Jinora say, _you can meditate here just as well as anywhere else. Find your peaceful place._

Concentrating, he searched his mind. He found the usual peaceful place: sitting in his grandfather's library with the rain outside, reading through a pile of books. As usual it worked and his spiritual self lifted from his body. He reached the lever in seconds. Beneath him he saw that they had now passed through the clouds. Instead, he could now clearly make out features of the earth below where he could make out features: the prison, the houses, the river. They were becoming closer and closer.

He tried to airbend the lever, but it failed. _Come on_ he thought. He concentrated as hard as he could to airbend, but it failed again.

"Come on!"

 _Find your peaceful place._ "I have!" but had he really? His peaceful place was the library, but was he truly at peace there? With himself?

Instead, he closed his eyes and conjured up the image of himself ten minutes ago: soaring through the clouds, realising that he wanted more than anything to stay alive and to keep _feeling._

His eyes snapped open and he attempted airbending again. A cursory glance below him showed him that he was close enough to see people looking up at him. "Come on!" he screamed. He bent the air, and the lever snapped to the other side.

 _BANG! BA-BA BANG! BANG!_

The sounds of the balloons being quickly filled by the air supply again. Cirrus's descent slowed to a stop, and the debris from the ceiling began raining down again. Including his body.

"Shit!" Trin screamed. He quickly returned to his body and removed his glider to stop himself from falling through the gaps. As Cirrus began to rise again, he sat within control panel, protecting himself with his air bubble again as the debris rained down on him. He exhaled deeply. _It's done._

As he exhaled, a white shadow flickered before him. It was Xaga, and he was furious.

"I'm only going to say this once, Trinley. We have a poison dart trained on your mother's head. If you are not in this prison in ten minutes, we will kill her."

Trin swallowed before taking out the glider from the back of his shirt.  
"Alright. I'm coming down."

 **Chapter Twelve  
** **The Avatars**

 **I**

When Trin landed at the tunnel of the prison, the guards were waiting for him.

One lifted a walkie-talkie to his ear, "He's here." After a pause he replied, "Will do."

"Follow me," he instructed Trin.

Trin followed him down a flight of stairs, tender from his injuries. Another guard tailing him with a dart aimed at his neck. Although he had read in detail about the prison, his mother had always forbidden him and Zoran from visiting it. The upside-down tiered structure was visible in the glass ceiling above. The prisoners prowled above looking down at Trin as he walked past. Traditionally, the more dangerous the criminal, the further down they went. Recently, only Xaga resided on the bottom tier.

"Wait, I recognise these people." Trin observed, noticing the hundreds of people on the top tier, pushing outwards to avoid falling to the next tier. Some of them looked down at him, scowling.  
"They're from Cirrus. They're not prisoners."

"How observant," the guard spat.

"They're not in Cirrus clothes now," the other guard said. "We're all one in the same now, under Xaga."

"Here." The guard announced, stopping beside a large wheel resembling a water mill that would take him up to the prison. Trin looked up. They were at the highest tier.

"Here? Why not just take me to the bottom?"

The guard with the glove raised began to answer, "Because that's where your-"

"Shut up. It's because it's what we told you to do, and if we don't we will kill you."

It was a compelling argument. Trin crouched in the pod that was part of the wheel, wincing as he felt a pain from a bruise to his stomach.

"Once you're up there, find your way to the bottom." The guard instructed before turning a creek and moving the wheel. It began lifting him to the surface of the prison. He'd read about this system, the door to the prison. It could not be opened from the outside as attempting to do so would trigger a pneumatic brake and halt the wheel. It was truly designed as an inescapable prison. Those who were sentenced here would be sentenced for life. _I'm not going to stay here long, though_ , he thought. _Even if I don't leave alive._

His first few from inside the prison were the clouds as he was looking up through the ceiling. Before he was even level, a woman grabbed him by the shirt and threw him into the wall. She moved her hands fluently and he was thrown into the crowd. They threw him again and he was tossed about like a ragdoll, upside down and side to side.

They spat on him, kicked him and rained blows.

Suddenly the ground seemed a lot further away – they had thrown him to the next tier. Before he could even recover, a gust pushed between people "You're a disgrace to airbending."  
"Xaga will destroy you-"

It felt never-ending: he'd lost count of the tiers he'd fallen down, of the number of pushes or punches and kicks and spits. He tried to defend himself but he couldn't orient himself, and they were coming from all directions. After landing on his stomach for the umpteenth, two arms tucked under his armpits and pulled him to his feet. He closed his eyes, preparing himself for more torture but the arms belonged to the only two people left on his side in the world. He looked up to his left at Pei, whose face was bruised so much that he could no longer see her olive skin. To her right was Zoran. Unlike Pei, there were no marks on his face, but his expression told him that he was hurting badly elsewhere.

He gave Trin a smile, but it was clearly forced. It was difficult to look at, so instead he looked in front of him at the six other people on the lowest tier. Four guards, also beaten and Mira, whose once pristine face was marred by dried blood and crooked teeth. She cradled her fingers of one finger in another hand.  
Amidst all these broken faces and spirits, Xaga stepped forward. He shined in his clean white robes, beard and hair with a vitality and posture that belied his age.

"Trinley. Finally we meet."

Trin spat blood in the floor between them.

Pei continued the sentiment, "You're the last person we will make the Avatar. Only one of the four of us is willing to do it."

"And thanks to Trin," Zoran nudged his brother, "you've lost your only piece of leverage."

Xaga sighed, looking at the blood on the floor. He withdrew the walkie-talkie from the pocket. "Hideki." He nodded behind them, with an air of reluctance.

They slowly looked behind them. At first, Trin saw three charred bodies – guards, he assumed, that had fought Zoran. Then he saw the door. His mother was standing there emotionless, Hideki pointing his purple glove at her head.

"I'm sorry it had to be like this," Xaga said to the three of them, "Truly. I have a soft spot for your mother."

"We're still not going to do it," Trin said, turning back to Xaga, "We're here because of her in the first place. We don't care about her anymore."  
Zoran shuffled on his feet beside him.

"We'll see," Xaga said, lifting the walkie-talkie, "If I'm not the Avatar in two minutes, kill her."

Zoran looked to see Hideki nod. His mother shook her head at him slightly, her message clear: _don't do it._

Pei took the boys aside, away from Xaga. "This is your choice," she instructed, "I'll do whatever you decide."

"We're not going to do it." Trin said, "Our job was to find the best person to be the Avatar, not the worst."

"But we can't let her die! She wouldn't do that to us."

"Are you sure?"

"It doesn't matter anyway. We're trapped in prison with his entire army, and he has hundreds of innocent lives to play with."

"Thirty seconds," Xaga said. "Time for a decision."

Pei looked at the boys, neither of them were going to change their mind. "We'll do it," she answered.  
"I'm sorry," she whispered to Trin, "Your brother is right."

"Good, you're doing the right thing. The era of peace begins now."

He knelt down in front of them. Mira immediately stood by his side and placed her hand on his forehead. The others reluctantly joined her, and all their hands soon found a place on his forehead.

"Do it!" Xaga exclaimed zealously, "Call on the power of-"

He was interrupted by a loud bang from behind them. They turned to see Hideki pressed up against the door, his nose leaking blood. Suddenly, Nea's hands reached around his throat and twisted his neck. He slid down the door and collapsed.

"Woo!" Zoran exclaimed, "Go mum!"

Xaga threw his walkie-talkie down in fury, smashing it.

"Oh my goodness," Pei whispered. They all saw it at the same time: the bright purple dart in her neck. From their staring, she felt around for it and pulled it out. She let it drop out of her hand onto Hideki's body. She looked up at them, resigned. Zoran and Trin rushed to the door. They put their hands up against it, one for each of hers.

She looked at them through her defeated, bloodshot eyes.

"I'm sorry," said Trin.

She shook her head. "I'm proud of you both."

She smiled. Then, as her skin began to turn purple, she turned away from them. She tilted her head back and pulled the air out of her lungs like rope and collapsed to the floor. Zoran dropped to the floor with her, covering his head with his arms and shaking.

"I'm sorry, boys." Xaga said.

"Shut up!" Pei seethed. "You know nothing about sacrifice."

Xaga reeled, "Excuse me, my whole life has been a sacrifice. I dedicated myself to building Cirrus, and now I've dedicated myself to reforming it."

"And how many people have had to die for that!?" What about their sacrifice?"

"We don't have time for your petty worries," Mira snapped, "we're operating on a schedule here."

Xaga nodded, and raised his head. His booming voice carried over the entire prison. "Hello all. The time has come for me to be the Avatar, but it is proving difficult. Come down to help us _convince_ them."

Immediately, people began dropping down tiers, closing in on them. Just as they were about to come down, Zoran stepped up and a massive ball of fire erupted from his hands."

Xaga's men stepped backwards, exchanging glances.

"If you come down here, you will be rewarded." Instructed Xaga.

Zoran laughed maniacally, "Or you will be ashes, like them." He gestured to the burnt bodies of the guards.

The prisoners looked at each other and stepped backwards, as far as they could.

"Cowards," said Mira.

"It doesn't matter," said Xaga, "I have another plan."

Pei shot a look to Zoran and Trin. _This is not good._

"You four," Xaga said to the guards, "protect Mira. I'll be as fast as I can."

He moved his hand in a circular motion, airbending. An aperture in the centre of the room opened, and he dropped inside. The four guards stood in front of Mira, who folded her arms and rolled her eyes. "I can protect myself."

"For how long?" Trin asked from the other side of the room.

Mira gave him an icy look, "Excuse me?"

"Your father wants to rebuild the city with only airbenders. What do you think he'll do with you?"

"I'm not an idiot. I know I won't be part of Cirrus. He's given me a house in the north." Mira pushed through the guards to in front of the opening in the floor.

Zoran continued the tact, "How fair. You did all his bidding all this time, putting your life on the line and he just abandons you?"

"I knew his plan for me and I'm fine with it."

"You're fine with being exiled? With all you've done, you deserve to be a leader."

"There's no place for a waterbender in Cirrus."

"And yet _he_ decided to become an Avatar."

"That's different…"

"So what?" Trin asked, "He could make an exception for himself but not for you?"

" _No!_ Shut up."

"Why are you doing this?" Pei asked. "He's a misguided son of a bitch. Why are you with him?"

Mira sniffed. "You lost your brother, Pei. We've given up everything. My mother threw herself off Cirrus when I was eight. He had to take care of me himself, as well as lead the city. He stood up for everything he believes, and everybody hated him for it. I couldn't keep any friends once they found out who my father was. I was sworn at every day by students, hated by the teachers. They teased me I couldn't even walk past people in the street without them glaring at me. Eventually I just stopped trying. All that kept me going was my hate. I _hated_ everyone. So in answer to your question, Pei, I'm with him because he's the only person left in the world that will have me."

There was silence for a while. Zoran and Trin exchanged glances.

"I'll have you." Pei said.

 **II**

Mira looked at Pei for a long time. She then pulled the guards either side of her close so she could whisper something in their ears. Suddenly, they froze where they stood, and fell forwards into the cavern.

Everyone moved at once. Above them, the prisoners broke into a commotion although they were still afraid to come down. Mira jumped backwards, avoiding the two remaining guards who then moved towards her. One pushed air forwards, knocking Mira backwards into the wall. Another raised his glove, steadying his aim. A tongue of fire slapped the glove and it caught alight. He batted at it with his other hand. Zoran fanned his arms out, and the fire burst over his chest, engulfing him in flame. Amidst the screams, Trin created an air funnel and pulled him towards him where he fell through the hole.

Meanwhile, the other guard closed in on Mira. She tried lashing out to touch him but he was keeping a safe distance, pummelling her with air blasts. Pei seized him by the collar from behind, and hurled him into the hole.

"Trin!" she called out.

Trin moved his arms circularly, and the aperture closed up. Above them, the prisoners were getting restless, waiting for someone to strike first.

"We should go through the door here," Zoran said, "do what we did to get out of that cage."

"It won't work," Pei said, Trin nodding in agreement. "I had earth that time, to smash through it. I don't have anything now."

"What if we get to the top tier?" Trin asked, "do you think you could reach through to the rocks on the surface?"

"Yeah, I think so." Pei replied.

"Hang on," Zoran frowned, "how are we going to get up there, through them!?"

Mira snickered, "Easily. If you boys hoist Pei and I up, fireboy you can cover us and then fairy can come last on his own."

The others murmured in agreement. They moved to a wall where Pei gave a boost to Mira so she could climb to the next tier. Some prisoners took a run at her but Zoran raised his two of his fingers. Lightning cracked at their feet, halting them.

"Get back. I don't want to hurt you." He warned.

Trin then gave a boost to Pei, and then finally his brother. As Zoran was occupied, two prisoners suddenly burst through, taking a run at Pei and Mira. Pei shouldered one like a wall and he fell to the ground, where she stomped him unconscious with her heavy boot. Mira ducked under her assailant's reach, and grabbed his ankle. Within seconds, he had frozen solid. Finally, Trin launched himself up through an air-propelled leap.

They continued like this for the remaining tiers. The prisoners stayed their distance, now afraid of them. When finally they had reached the last tier, the citizens rushed at them. Zoran swiped lines of fire around them, separating them.

"What are you doing!?" Zoran called out, "we're helping you guys escape."

To Trin's shock, Lexa stepped forwards.

"I think they've lost their trust," she said.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Trin asked.

"They gathered around all the airbenders. Including us. What happened down there? Where's your mother?"

Zoran looked at Trin, "Do you two know each other?"

"Nea died so that we could escape," Trin replied to Lexa's question.

"I don't believe you," she said. "Stop what you're doing and head back to the bottom now."

"Listen you _idiot_ ," Mira went up to her, face to face. "We're your last chance of getting out of here before my father emerges in his suit of death. So either do exactly what we say, or if he doesn't kill you, I will."

Lexa reeled. "Fine. What do you need?"

Pei, Zoran and Mira continually walked around the tier. Pei went around the ring, pulling rocks from the outside onto a pile on the centre of the glass ceiling. Zoran blasted fire upwards from his hands above his head, singeing a ring into the glass above them. Against her wishes, Mira rode onto of the shoulders of a hairy airbending giant, supercooling the ring left by Zoran. "Keep still, oaf!"

As they were doing this, Trin had marshalled as many airbenders as possible. "…and so when Lexa says "now" we'll release it. Okay? Good, so who here knows how to use an air-shield?"

Soon the alternating heat and cold on the ceiling above them led to cracks in a perfect ring. Pei's pile of boulders was now covering the majority of the ceiling. Trin stood beside Lexa. "Okay," he said.

"Everyone!" Lexa called out, "Let's do it!"

The hundreds of airbenders along the tier: men and women of every age, including parents holding their babies and young children, began moving their hands in a circular motion. Nothing happened, and a confused murmur broke out among them.

"Keep going!" Lexa shouted. "How sure are you that this will work?" She muttered to Trin.

"I'm not sure at all," he replied nervously.

Soon, however, the boulders began to rumble. The vibrating became more and more violent until they were shaking the whole prison with them. Suddenly, clusters of them began to lift, revealing a massive whirlwind above them. Surprised jitters ran around the tier, and fearful ones sounded on the tiers below.

"Woah." Zoran said.

Trin grinned at the spectacle. _We did it._

The boulders lifted higher and higher.

"Now?" Lexa muttered to Trin.

"No," he replied.

"Now!?" she asked a moment later, "We're losing control!"

"Not yet."

" _MIIIIRAAAAA…"_ bellowed Xaga from below them.

From the other side of the tier, Mira shot Trin a look. "Now!" he screamed.

The whirlwind disappeared, and the boulders fell.

Lexa cried out, "Shields, people! Get behind them!"

Around the tier, people formed bubbles of air around them. Those who couldn't stood behind those who could. Trin had a glimpse of Zoran giving him a nod before the sky fell.

The boulders slammed into the ceiling and instantly, the circle within the cracked ring formed by Zoran and Mira broke off. As they'd planned, it fell, missing the rim of their tier by inches. Shattered glass rained down on them, bouncing off their air shields. The sounds of smashing, shattering and screaming filled the air building into a heckish cacophony that exceeded any sound they'd ever heard. The circle was momentarily halted by the tier below them, crushing people to death. Then, the boulders caught up with it and smashed through them. The entire ceiling was now reduced to shards of glass, raining with the boulders as they cut and crushed the prisoners below them.

"Everyone, let's climb out!" Lexa called out. "Children and the elderly first, then we'll help the people below us."

Grateful murmurs sounded below them.

"What are you?" Trin snapped. "They're Xaga's followers!"

"Does he look like he's coming out to you?" Trin looked down below them. The bottom two tiers were entirely covered by rubble. _Was it really over?_

 **III**

Mira leaned over the edge once she had reached the top. She picked up the baby the mother was holding out to her. Once she'd leapt to the top, Mira handed her the baby.

"Thank you so much!" the woman said.

Mira gave a heartless grin and turned around. Pei was there.

"What's this? You doing something nice for someone?"

"The sooner we do, the sooner we can leave," she brushed past her towards the river. She couldn't help but to smile

"So…what now?" Zoran said to Trin.

Trin shrugged. He looked leisurely around the prison where there was nothing but flat grassy land, segmented by a river. He looked over to the forest where his grandfather's house was, and Cirrus which floated above it. His black eyes suddenly widened and the sun on his face became eclipsed.

"No…" he breathed.

"What?" Zoran followed his gaze. His spirits sunk out of terror.

A glass mecha-suit the height of three people descended from the sky. They didn't need to be close to realise that it was Xaga inside. Screams of terror erupted across the field, and from below in the prison.

"My people," the projected voice boomed across the landscape, "these so-called airbenders tried to kill you. They are useless to us. Wipe them out!"

Everyone looked at Xaga's followers surrounding them, many of whom were still being helped up by other airbenders. None of them moved.

"Cowards!" he bellowed. "I'll do it myself." He raised one of his hollow arms, aiming at the civilians below him. He fired, his arm recoiling, but nothing happened. It was frozen.

Xaga roared in rage, and cracked the ice off onto his leg. He searched the ground below him for his daughter.

" _Here!_ " There she was, legs spread catlike and arms raised, supporting a snake of water above her. She raised her head, revealing eyes glowing electric blue.

 _I am the Sea_.

Pei, Zoran and Trin all whipped around to look at her. They _heard_ her. Without trying, they felt the spirit of light inside them react to her entering the Avatar state. They felt the light eclipse them.

 _I am the Sun._

 _I am the Sky._

 _I am the Earth._

They opened their eyes: glowing red, yellow and green. Suddenly, they had become one. Words passed between them as thoughts, but as clear as speech

Xaga stepped backwards out of fear. He cracked the ice off the arm onto the leg of the mecha suit. Then, he raised his other arm, changing aim between the four of them. They were all too ready; they would evade his attack easily. Instead he aimed at the Air temple Island girl and doused her with flame.

 _No!_

 _Don't worry, I've got her._

The fire cleared, revealing Lexa and Trin surrounded by a sphere of swirling air.

"Thanks honey," Lexa said, "I'll just do that by myself next time."

"Get everyone to safety!" Zoran called out to Lexa, "we'll distract him."

Lexa nodded and turned to Trin, "Good luck. I'm sorry about your mother."

Trin's expression hardened, "Don't be. She was a terrible mother. I hated her."

Lexa gave him a sympathetically doubting look, before turning to the airbenders and barking out orders.

Meanwhile, Xaga raised his arm again, and aimed it at the three of them. A boulder knocked the arm and the ensuing flame passed in an arc through the air. Before Xaga could recover, another boulder knocked his shoulder, and another his chest. Pei smiled.

 _Now, Mira._

Xaga stepped backwards onto the glossy strip of ice and slipped backwards. Just as he was about to collapse, he lifted in the air.

 _Those fans. Someone needs to stop them._

 _I think can,_ thought Pei _but someone will need to get him down first._

 _I'll do it!_ Zoran sent, _but first someone needs to distract him._

Xaga raised his arm and saw Trin running around frantically in front of him. He fired boulders from his arm at him. They followed him in a line, getting closer. He then felt a burst of wind behind him, increasing his speed.

Meanwhile, Zoran had crept around behind Xaga. He took off upwards by blasting fire from his feet. After becoming level with his back, he found the fans. They were large rings jutting out behind the shoulders of the suit. It was as he'd hoped. He dropped, clinging to the top of the spine with his arm. He took note of how the spine was platinum while the rest of the suit was glass. With his free arm, he directed his two fingers at one of the fans. Lightning cracked through the air, burning the white zig-zag pattern in Zoran's sight.

The electricity buzzed around in the fan, zapping around in a circle. As Zoran lowered himself down, he glanced behind him to see if it had worked.

"Yoku!" a woman called out. "Get away from there!"

Trin followed her line of sight to see her son directly below Xaga, gazing upwards in awe. Suddenly, one side of Xaga dropped. The remaining fan in his back held him upwards, but the rest pulled him down, and he fell in a spiralling motion.

Trin burst forwards, sprinting towards the boy. The air surged behind him, plunging him forwards. Xaga was now seconds from crushing him to death, and he wasn't going to reach him in time.

 _Someone_ he sent desperately.

Mira sucked the water out of the grass around her, leaving it black and lifeless. She hurled the wave at Trin. It slapped him, throwing him forwards. He spear-tackled the boy, taking him out of Xaga's way in time. They rolled along the grass to safety, but when Xaga collided with the earth they were thrown further to the side. Trin propped himself to his knees, coughing out dirt. He looked up to check on the child, and saw that the boy's mother had already picked him up. She cradled him lovingly in her arms, kissing his forehead over and over.

Trin felt the Avatar state leave him. He blinked through his glowing eyes, and instead they were replaced with tears. The mother came up to him, also in tears.

"You saved him. Thank you so much, what's your name?"

Trin looked away from her, down at the child whose hand was in hers, the other hand sticking a thumb in his mouth.

"Don't thank me, just…get him to safety."

She nodded, smiling and turned away.

After Xaga had fallen, Pei was upon him, hurling rocks and shards of stone into the fans.

 _That should stop him from flying any more._

She didn't notice Xaga's hand moving. It enclosed around her, choking her.

 _Help_ …

Zoran and Mira looked at each other as Xaga got to his feet.

"Get out of my way," Xaga bellowed, "I'm throwing her into the pit where she belongs."

 _That spine on him_ , Zoran sent to Mira, _it's not glass like the rest of him. Do you think you can pierce it?_

 _The fuel line. I hope so._

She gathered the water she had used to help Trin. Raising it into a wave behind her, she sent a flurry of icicles towards his back. Some missed the target, and bounced off the back of the suit but then several lodged in the spine, leaking oil.

Xaga sensed was going on. Spikes emerged from his feet, pinning him to the ground. He raised Pei over the prison. If there was earth she may able to survive the fall, but the only earth was broken rocks covered in glass shards that would slice her open.

"Say hecko to your brother for me." Xaga taunted.

"Zoran, no!" Mira screamed, realising what was happening. It was too late.

Zoran sent a burst of fire which coated Xaga's back. A massive explosion ensued. Xaga did not move at all, but Pei was thrown forwards into the depths below.

"Peeeiiii!" Mira screamed.

Pei hurtled through the air, trying to inhale but choking. For a second she rose high, but then she fell. The broken glass and rocks grew closer and closer. She closed her eyes, preparing herself.

 _Goodbye Mira._ She sent.

The sound of rushing air suddenly grew softer, and faded in and out. She opened her eyes in confusion. She was being supported on a whirlwind. At the bottom was Trin, furiously circling his arms to steadily lower her. She softly come down to the ground.

"Oh, Trin!" she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed the air out of his lungs, lifting him upwards.

 **IV**

The spikes on Xaga's feet withdrew and he turned around to face Mira and Zoran. Within the cockpit, he smiled. "I may not be able to use fire anymore. But then again against you, Zoran, that won't be very useful.

Mira's eyes continued to rage a blue fire. _We destroy him now. I'll be back. Make sure you coat him with as much fire as you can._

Zoran nodded. Making a lotus with his two wrists together, he coated Xaga's feet with a fire so hot it began to crack the ground around him.

"So much power!" Xaga exclaimed. He launched a boulder at Zoran, and stepped out of the molten zone.

Zoran rolled to the side. Breathing heavily, he sent out another burst of fire but Xaga blocked it with his hand with which he fired another boulder.

Zoran was thrown into the air where he started his fire propulsion again. _Come on,_ he thought. _Stay strong, one final burst…_

He circled around Xaga again and again, coating him with flames so fierce the air around them appeared wavy. Xaga tried swatting at him, but he was too quick. He darted in and around him, hovering close enough to touch him.

It seemed like an eternity since Mira had left. Zoran was completely drained. With a flicker, he left the Avatar state. He looked behind him, _where was she?_

Xaga seized the momentary distraction and swatted him downwards. Zoran crashed into the ground like a meteorite, leaving a dent in the earth. He tried to get up but it hurt to breathe – several of his ribs had broken. He coughed up blood to the side of him.

Xaga laughed and raised his arm at him. He fired. Zoran watched the boulder hurtle towards him as if in slow motion. He wasn't going to make any attempt to avoid. He was done.

It halted. Zoran took a second to realise that it had literally been frozen in mid-air, forming the crest of a frozen wave. That's when he heard Mira coming before he even saw her. The sound of a thousand waves crashing continuously. He looked to his left to see her. She was riding a wave larger than Zoran had even seen in the ocean. A massive wall of water hurtled towards them.

Xaga, after reeling from the shock, fired several boulders at her. She dodged them easily and they simply crashed through the wave beneath her. As she approached him, she dipped down low – at his feet. Zoran watched the next spectacle in utter awe, his mouth hanging wide and his pain forgotten.

Starting from his feet, she climbed around the mecha suit in a spiral. With her free hand she froze the glass of her suit as she went. Xaga could do nothing to resist. He attempted swatting at her, but she evaded them easily by ducking and dodging. As the wave had fully curtained around him, Zoran could see through the prism of water that she had formed all around him that his suit was filled with millions of cracks.

 _What are we going to do without Pei?_ Zoran wondered.

As if in answer to his question, he watched Pei pull herself up to the rim of the prison, shortly followed by Trin leaping over her head.

Zoran pulled himself up and turned to them. "Oh my goodness…Pei! Pei!"

Pei looked over and raised her hand, smiling.

"No, look! We need-"

His explanation was interrupted. The tower of water surrounding Xaga suddenly froze completely. Mira was at the top of it, facing the cockpit: eye-level with her father. She withdrew from the Avatar state, and looked at him with her violet eyes.

"It's over, Dad." She called out. "Don't make me do this. Please."

Xaga shook his head, "I'm sorry, Mira."

Mira closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. On top of her palace of ice she did a series of complex hand gestures. Some went side-to-side in rapid movements and sharp angles like frost. Others were smooth and gentle like the flow of water. Holes appeared all throughout the ice. When she had finished, she clapped her hands together and the tower slowly melted, and she rode the wave of water gently back to the earth. She looked back at her father's mecha-suit.

Thousands of spears of ice had pierced the suit every which way like a pin-cushion, except some long spears pierced all the way through one side and out the other.

Xaga had enough time to rip one spear out and threw it haphazardly away. Then he exploded. His cockpit, the one intact part of the suit, was thrown backwards into the prison. The rest of the suit shattered into a million pieces. The tiny reflective shards floated down to the earth like stardust.

"Woah!" Pei exclaimed.

She heard coughing near her, and she turned to see Zoran lying down still looking awestruck by the celestial spectacle. Past him, Mira on the ground. _Probably just inhaled some glass_ she thought. But then Mira turned to her side.

A spear of ice had pierced through her chest.

 **V**

"No," she sprinted towards her. "Please. Please no."

She arrived at her side and immediately rolled Mira to the side. She placed her head on the damp grass, inches from her face. "You're okay." She whispered, "You're going to be okay."

She heard Trin and Zoran arrive behind her. "Oh fuck, oh fuck." Pei turned to them, white-faced.

"What can we do?" Trin asked.

Pei scratched her scalp furiously. "I…I don't know. I don't know."

They heard a murmur from at their feet. Pei bent down and placed her ear to Mira's mouth. "What?"

"Xaga." Mira breathed. "He's going after Cirrus. Stop him."

Pei whipped around to see Xaga limping across the field. "Zoran… stop Xaga, we'll take care of her."

Zoran clutched his chest, in obvious pain. "Of course. Good…good luck." They nodded to each other and Zoran started jogging after him.

"I'll go to granddad," said Trin crossing his legs, "he'll know what to do." Pei nodded.

"Leave the spear in," Pei instructed Mira.

Mira began murmuring again, and Pei bent down to listen. She turned to Trin. "She's asking for you."

Trin frowned, before lying down next to Mira and hearing her words.

"Fairy…" she whispered, "I'm done for. Grab your glider and help your brother. He needs you."

Trin nodded.

"And hey…you never compromise who you are. They should make you the Avatar."

Trin stood up and faced Pei. "She told me to help Zoran."

"But she needs your help!" Pei screamed.

Mira suddenly reached out and grabbed Trin's leg. She rasped, "go."

Trin nodded. "I'm sorry Pei," he said before taking off.

Pei looked down at Mira. "What was that all about!?" she screamed.

Mira clutched the spear in front of her and it washed away as water and blood.

"No!" she screamed, crouching down in front of her.

"Yes," Mira smiled. "I'm dead, Pei."

"Don't say that."

"It's true."

Pei wiped the tears away from her eyes. For a few seconds she watched Trin take off with his glider.

"I'm cold…" Mira breathed.

Pei raised a mound of earth and laid down against it, opening her jacket. She lifted Mira's chest onto her own, covering her and her wound with her jacket. She rested her chin on the top of Mira's head. They stayed like that for a long time. Her tears dripped onto the shaved side of Mira's scalp.

"Sorry," she whispered.

Mira laughed. "I never used to like water. And I used to hate everybody. But then there was this one day where my father asked me to follow and kill these two boys. I was terrified about it – not about the killing part. I knew what I was capable of. It was because I'd never been out of Cirrus before that. The idea of going through the jungle by myself, in the middle of a crazy storm was, you know. Scary.

""Don't worry," Dad said. "I'll send someone to go with you."

"So here I was, at the rendezvous. The boys were already long gone, and it had started to rain. My dress was in tatters, my hair was a mess. And still this incompetent, skinny guy I was picturing still hadn't come. Then you appeared and…" she swallowed.  
"My fear just…washed away."

More tears dropped on Mira's face, but this time she did not blink. Her eyes were frozen.

Pei shook, sobbing.

"I'm sorry I was so late."

 **VI**

Zoran didn't know how, but Xaga was flying. He was chasing him in the field and then suddenly, without a wingsuit or a glider, took off into the air. Despite his shock, Zoran immediately launched after him. Soon, they were under Cirrus as it slowly ascended to its original height.

"Leave them alone!" Zoran screamed. "Isn't killing your daughter enough!?"

Xaga looked down at him and accelerated, increasing the distance between them. Zoran pointed his two fingers upwards and let the surge of energy burst out of him. He moved the lightning in a line around Xaga until it connected with him. He began free-falling through the air towards the forest.

 _Shit_ , Zoran thought. He pressed towards him. Just as he neared him, Xaga woke up and blasted air towards him. Zoran was thrown backwards, twirling through the air. As he recovered, he couldn't see him. Then, Xaga slammed into his chest with his elbow. Zoran soared downwards, clutching his chest. What made it worse was the hit reawakened the pain of his broken ribs. He looked up and spotted Xaga gliding towards him. Raising his arms, he burst fire towards him.

Xaga deflected it with a buffer of air, reflecting it back over Zoran. He shielded his face but the fire washed over him, singeing his hair. Before Zoran could retaliate, he was suspended in a sphere of air. _What the…_

He tried flying out of it, but everyone he went the sphere followed around him. Suddenly, he felt something truly awful that he had experienced before: the feeling of air being ripped out of his lungs. He watched Xaga through his bloodshot eyes as he circled his hands around. He launched towards Xaga but he easily evaded it.

"You bastards ruined everything," Xaga boomed. "Decades. Decades I was working on my plans. They're _ruined_."

Zoran clawed at his throat in some innate gesture to bring air back into his lungs. He felt the last dregs of air be ripped, his chest cavity deflating.

Out of nowhere, Trin shot into view. He smashed his glider on the side of Xaga's skull. The glider burst into splinters. Trin then seized Xaga around the chest and launched downwards, spiralling towards the forest.

They burst through the canopy and crashed into the soft earth. After a few seconds of recovery, Trin sat on Xaga's chest, pummelling into his clean white face.

By the time his knuckles were bleeding, Zoran put his hand on his shoulder. "Help me with him." He wheezed.

"Why?" Trin frowned. "I think we should just kill him now."

Zoran turned to him and clutched his chest, wincing. "And I think we should just let him live. But it's not up to either of us, is it?"

 **VII**

It was twilight by the time Pei had arrived into the clearing. Like all of them, her face was badly bruised but it was clear that her physical problems weren't the real pain. Her hand rested on a large, ovular boulder levitating beside her. An earthen tomb.

She looked at Xaga with disgust, tied to a tree-trunk with hundreds of vines. He grinned at her through his cracked teeth.

"I'm sorry-"

" _Don't. Talk_." She lowered the tomb gently to the ground.

"It was her fau-"

A necklace of rocks surrounded Xaga's neck and he was ripped through the vines. He was lifted into the air between the three of them, legs and arms kicking wildly.

Trin looked at the ground, and Zoran looked at Pei with concern. He dropped to the ground with an "oomph" and the rocks bounced away. The ground surrounding him broke upwards, imprisoning him.

Pei walked around to face him. "You killed your daughter. Death is more than you deserve."

She turned to the brothers. "When we were connected, I saw that there's something we can do…"

Trin nodded in understanding. "We don't need all four of us?"

Pei shrugged.

"Maybe because you're the same element, you should try it Trin." Zoran wondered aloud.

Trin nodded. He stepped forward and pressed his thumb over Xaga's forehead. The leaves stirred around them in a circle and Zoran was reminded of the windy day in which they all received their bending. The wind grew wilder and the ring of leaves around them grew taller and faster until they blanketed their view of the rest of the forest in a flurry of red, brown and gold. Then, they fell as gracefully as any leaf falling from a tree. The forest continued as if nothing had happened.

Trin stepped away from the shaking old man. "It's done." He said. "Your bending's gone."

 **VIII**

Pei watched the flaming boat drift down the river, out to sea and even long after it had dipped past the horizon. It disappeared as if it had fallen out the ocean and become one of the stars. She clutched her legs to herself, the dried tears leaving a lingering burn.

"Should we talk to her?" Trin asked.  
"No. She needs time on her own to grieve." Zoran muttered.

They were a fair distance away from her, skipping stones further up the river.

"It's over," Trin whispered in disbelief.  
"I know. What do we even do now." Zoran replied. It wasn't a question.

Zoran leant to the side and flicked the pebble. It bounced a few times over the water before cracking into the rocks on the other bank.

"Don't tell Pei this," Trin muttered, "But Mira told me something other than to rescue you. She said that I should be the Avatar."  
Zoran whipped around to face him. "Wow, really?"  
"I know, I'm the last person who we should make the Avatar."  
"Actually, Trin, I was going to suggest the same thing."

Trin frowned, "Are you kidding me? What about you, you care about everyone!"

"Exactly," Zoran smiled. "I spread my love to everyone that it becomes…" he flicked another stone across the water, "thinly spread. You see who needs your help the most, and you don't stop until you achieve it. Of everyone I know, you deserve to be Avatar the most."

"I agree," said Pei, "Avatar Trinley."

Trin looked between them, shaking his head in disbelief.

 **Epilogue**

 **I**

In a small bedroom on Aang Memorial Island, Pei was getting ready to shave Trin's hair. Zoran and Lexa sat on the bed, watching on.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" She warned, holding the razor aloft so that Trin could see it in the mirror.

"Hey, when can he get his arrow tats?" Zoran asked Lexa.  
"Definitely not yet." She replied, stretching out her legs.

Pei touched the razor to Trin's head, but then put it down on the table. She looked in the mirror. "I'm sorry…I can't do this."

She ran out of the room, and Zoran followed suit.

"Make sure you're both there for it!" Lexa called out.

She stood up behind Trin and without hesitating, began shaving his head. His thick black hair fell to the floor.

"What's her problem?" She asked.

"She had to do this for Mira one time," Trin replied.

"Oh. Anyway, how are you feeling about this all?"

"Okay." Trin answered sullenly.

Lexa stopped. She glanced in the mirror at him before continuing. "We're so grateful you're doing this. I know Republic City will be thrilled when we tell them you're going to be Avatar. They all love you. I don't know why."

Trin gave a wan smile. "I think this is a mistake."

Lexa frowned. "It's a bit late, I'm already half way through unless you want to start a new trend."

"No, I mean…I feel wrong about it. I don't think I should be the Avatar. I could never firebend like Zoran, or earthbend like Pei. I think we should just leave it how it is."

Lexa slammed the razor down on the table and crossed her arms. "You're kidding me."

"Why does there have to be a single Avatar? We were so good together, the four of us. We took down the most powerful army the world has seen in 100 years. How can one person be better than that?"

Lexa sighed and picked up the razor again to finish the job. "Even if you're right, what are we going to tell the people? They're expecting something."

"So, what? We just cancel it."

"That's not what your mother would do." Lexa said, "You're not running away from this. You have to think of something."

 **II**

"I thought you'd come here." Zoran said, sitting beside Pei. He'd found her by the pond on the Island, staring at the water-lilies.

"I don't understand," Pei said. "After all this time, why am I still upset about her? I mean she was a terrible person."

"You loved each other."

"So? She killed my brother. The thought of her should anger me, not make me sad."

"Actually Pei," Zoran started, "she didn't kill him."  
Pei looked at him, "What do you mean?  
"Today, I was going through my mother's things and I found your brother's file. From what she found, Xaga was the one who forced him to try the original suit. Not Mira."

"Why? Why would she tell me that it was her fault?"

"When I found it today, I thought maybe she was trying to keep you safe by driving you away from Xaga. But now that I think about it, I think she was trying to drive you away from herself. She thought she wasn't good enough for you, so she drove you away using the only emotion she understood. Hate."

Tears rolled down Pei's cheeks. "I didn't think I could love and hate so much at the same time."

 **III**

Trin glanced to the side of him at his family seated alongside of him: his brother, adorned in a fancy suit; Pei in her shimmering black dress looking wistfully out into the crowd and Lexa, the newest addition to his life, smiling encouragingly at him.

He cleared his throat into the microphone and spoke: "Good evening everyone. Um. I'm supposed to tell you that I'm being made the new Avatar. Tomorrow morning we planned to set sail to the Water Tribe and find the new Water Avatar. Instead, I don't believe I should be the Avatar any more than any one person should be. My friends and I are much better together than any one of us is. That's why tomorrow, my brother Zoran will go to the Fire Nation, my best friend Pei will visit the pockets of the Earth Nation around the world and I'll go to the Water Tribe myself. Each of us will talk with the leaders and the people of each nation and convince them to return to the mainland and rebuild Republic City.

"One hundred and one centuries ago, the spirit of light fused with a man named Wan to create the first Avatar. It's not right to say that everything changed since then. In every Avatar's lifetime, everything has changed about the world, usually beyond our prediction or control. The Avatar has adapted accordingly, and handled many of the world's burdens single-handedly. The last Avatar, Avatar Korra, gave me and three of my friends their bending so that we would find a person to anoint as the new Avatar. But then, three weeks ago, we showed that an "Avatar" for each element is mightier than a single Avatar. For now, in order to restore the world to what it was, it's going to stay that way. Together, we are the Air, the Sun, the Earth and its Seas. We are the Avatar."


End file.
